Castlevania: The Vampire Hunter Chronicles
by Shenlong7
Summary: Simon Belmont is once again forced to take up the whip and stop the evil plans of two Devil Forgers with the help of a certain dhampire. Not Yaoi infact it is SimonXOC M for mature stuff...duh!
1. Chapter 1

Castlevania: The Vampire Hunter Chronicles

Chapter One: The Return Journey

Disclaimer: I do not own Castlevania or any of the characters associated with Castlevania.

* * *

Simon Belmont felt a sense of relief as he rode his horse away from the ruins of Castlevania, looking back to make sure that his nightmare was over and that he could expect his life to be easy or as easy as it got for a Belmont. He wasn't planning on living off his fame like other vampire hunters had done, but he would marry the woman he had his eyes on as soon as he settled back into normal life. Of course he would also rise again to fight whatever minions of evil made themselves known to the world as he looked at the land that he had saved. Around the castle had been dead earth with nothing but grey grass that looked like it was made out of the ashes of cremated bodies and dry desolate earth, but soon the ground would give rise to life. Looking into the rising sun, Simon Belmont felt pride in the act that he had made his ancestors proud and lived up to the surname that was given to him. Right before he reached the woods that led back to the town, he saw a raven standing on a tree branch as it looked at where the castle had been and then when it saw him, the bird took flight into the night. Not seeing any harm in this, Simon went along his way through the no longer dangerous forest to the village on the other side.

"Simon Belmont is back," cried one of the townspeople as he ran to rang the bell to signal the heroes successful return from Dracula's castle, which would also signal the end of the darkness that had plagued the town.

"Make way for the mayor," cried the law enforcers as they parted the crowd so that the town mayor could come and greet the Belmont in person. "Make way for Mayor Baldwin."

"Ah, Master Simon Belmont, you have done this land and the world the greatest deed of all," said the old Baldwin as he raised one boney hand to point at the returning hero. "It has been decided that you deserve the title of Lord of all the lands that the monstrous Count Dracula held and all of your descendants will own this territory as well as the title. I wish that there were some other way to give you a land that was more prosperous than that piece of dead land, but it would seem that the young king has no respect for heroes these days."

"Dracula's lands are most generous since it would give me so much land that will soon be prosperous," replied Simon Belmont as he got off of his horse and bowed before the mayor.

"Oh no, Lord Belmont, it is I who should bow to you," replied the aged mayor as he bowed before Simon and then clapped his hands. The whole town soon followed and there was cheer for the returning hero, for the one who conquered evil, Simon Belmont. "Come, let there be a joyous celebration for the return of peace, for the return of safety, for the return of the light, and for the return of Belmonts!"

* * *

"I have gone to see him," said the figure in black as he made his way to the figure dressed in white trousers and a white tunic with brown boots. "You're clothing is still as white as ever, Leto, but right now that is not important. What is important is that the man who has thrice killed our master is drinking to his health and you were supposed to make sure that he would be dead by now, yet he is not dead. I would like to know what you intend to do about Simon Belmont."

"What we need is another vampire," replied Leto as he walked down from his altar to the dark lord, Dracula, and he stopped to pick up his sword so that he could hold it up to the light. The light hit a jewel that opened the great chamber where lie the coffins of other vampires, weaker than Dracula, but still powerful in their own right. "I believe it would be only proper that we release Mobious on the world and see if we can't get Belmont to come to the castle for him."

"You know, neither of us have the power to raise Castlevania, even if we did bring back Mobious," exclaimed the figure in black as he kept his own sword sheathed. "We are just devil forgers, and the only one who can raise it now is Carmilla, but I do not wish to put her in harm's way."

"Iscariot, you are very well falling in love with her," laughed Leto as he walked down the corridor and found his way to the place where Mobious's coffin lay. "I'll let you on a little secret, Joshua Iscariot. She also feels the same way for you and by bringing her here, she will give you the dark gift and you and she will live forever, happily ever after. Now go find a girl for her resurrection and I'll go find a man for his resurrection. Come now, your family should be use to getting their hands dirty, your ancestor was Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, after all."

"We are not all Judas's, we are each a different individual," retorted Joshua as he walked out of the cave. "But we are also bound by the emotions that could bring about our ruin and as such, we are all Judas's of a different nature, for as he betrayed Christ, I now betray my own morals, but I do it in the name of love."

* * *

Simon Belmont ran a hand through his blond hair as he walked up the steps towards the room of her house, the vampire huntress whom he asked to protect the village while he was gone. Sonia Fortner (yes I know I'm taking two names from two characters, but only one of them is canon in the main scheme and she is not even born yet.), known as the Blade Mistress, she had trained to be a vampire hunter just like her father and brother, but she never got the chance to fight alongside her father and brother. They both ran off to Dracula's castle and never returned, like many vampire hunters before them, but she still worked hard to become strong, often challenging the men in the bar to an arm wrestling match and never lost a single time. Simon could admit when he was impressed and he would never fail to tell her this when he was impressed with her, but he wasn't there to tell her how impressed he was with her, he was there to tell her how he felt about her. That's why he was walking into the pub, brushing past the line that developed to try and get their chance with the Amazonian who was crushing all of the men, but he knew that she was a bit miffed that he had left her in the village each time to go after Dracula. The first time he had gone so far as to tie her to her bed and tell the manager to feed her, but to let her out until he returned. Then of course he had to give her the burden of taking care of the town so that she would stay, it would be a miracle if she felt anything towards him besides the urge to punch something, probably him.

"Hello there, Sonia," said Simon, trying to act like it was the most natural thing to do, but inside he was flinching from the punch that he expected to come flying at him, but it never came.

"I see your back in good health, just like I asked," replied Sonia as she went back to pinning a man's arm onto the table. "Well, shouldn't you be at your banquet where they'll be toasting to your health and your honor while the sweet maidens of the village come to rub all over your muscles."

"None of that is to my liking and you know that, Sonia," replied Simon as he sat down next to her, but no man wanted to go up against a man who had taken down Dracula single handedly. "I much rather prefer a stronger woman with more of an attitude than most of the innocent young maidens of the village."

"Your words are only dancing around what I hope you to say, Simon," said Sonia as she set her drink down and got up to leave, the crowd of men breaking up and leaving the tavern. "Now then if you will excuse me I have a young sick girl who needs to be cared for."

"A young sick girl in your care," asked Belmont with a cocked brow.

"Her name is Lydia and she lost her parents in one of the attacks," replied Sonia as she put on her coat and walked forward toward the door. "She has developed an illness and I am taking care of her until the doctors return to Transylvania."

"Wait," commanded Simon as he motioned for her to stay silent and listened to the sound of bells. "The town bells! There is an attack on the village!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Call to Action

Disclaimer: I do not own Castlevania or any of the characters associated with Castlevania. Please review.

* * *

The curtains of the room where pushed back to reveal the luscious body of the woman he loved, still resting in her slumber as he brought the light of the torch to reveal all of what his love looked like. Her skin was a bit wrinkled by the starvation that she was undergoing as the price of not eating, but she still looked so beautiful to him, like a statue of some otherworldly goddess, but she was as real as the pale moon light which shined so brightly on her face. She would rise again, to be able to bask in the glow of the moonlight and for him to further ignite the flames of love that burned between them. It could burn them both if they weren't careful, but he wasn't paying attention to that, he was more concerned about getting her back. Every second she wasn't awake was a moment of agony for him since he never slept and would have to spend waking moments without her, but she would rise at the same time to talk to him, to read with him, to help him understand himself.

"What are you doing here," demanded Leto as he pointed towards the ord above the statue of the great serpent, Envy. "The attack started some time ago, what are you still doing here?"

"It will be a simple second for me to get to that village, all I need do is summon a portal and I'm there," replied Iscariot with a simple shrug before he opened a portal and waved as he walked through it.

* * *

Simon Belmont thought he had finished seeing skeletons or werewolves or any of the monsters of Dracula's castle, or at least he wouldn't have to see them for a while, but right now they were all attacking the village. Quickly, he raced to the inn that he was staying at and retrieved his trusty Vampire Killer and sword, before running back out to help the villagers with their problem. Stepping into the market square, Simon lashed his whip out at a werewolf, hitting it straight in it's chest as it gave a howl and gray as it fell to the ground wounded. Before he could finish it off, a man got in front of the werewolf to hold off Simon from finishing it off with another crack of his whip and he saw the man remove his hood to reveal wolf like eyes.

"Please we mean no harm sir, we just came here because we are honored bound to help," said the werewolf as he took out a crest to show his allegiance to two families, one being the Belmont family crest and the other being the Tepes family crest.

The only time they were both forged on the same crest was when it was a creature that had allied himself with Trevor Belmont and Alucard during the time of the alliance of the four, the four greats who defeated Dracula during the fifteenth century. Most of the werewolves had stayed on Dracula's side seeing as how they had been persecuted because of their traits, but there were some who sided with Alucard in hopes of gaining some redemption from their dark fates. The order had gone into hiding due to their unpopularity with other werewolf clans and had long since been believed to be extinct, but apparently they weren't. Of course, Simon did have his doubts about the man before him, but they were all silenced when he saw the werewolves running around and killing the other creatures that were causing trouble in his town.

"What is your name," asked Simon as he held his hand out towards the werewolf and the werewolf took it in his own strong grip.

"My name is Taven Schneider, I've been sent by Lord Alucard to inform you of his presence," replied the werewolf as he pointed towards the werewolf lying on the ground. "The one you nearly killed was my brother and I'm glad you didn't kill him, but I'm afraid he won't be able to get into the fight."

"I am deeply sorry for that," said Simon, who was embarrassed by having nearly killed one of his stronger allies than most of the vampire hunters in Transylvania. "You must understand that I have fought other werewolves in my fights against Dracula, and when I saw him running around, I thought he was one of them."

"Oh it is quite understandable, Lord Belmont, and we hold no offense towards you," declared Taven as he helped his brother to his feet and carried him off. "Lord Alucard will meet you later, but for now he is tending to some other matters in the other villages close to Castlevania."

"The Alucard," asked Simon, astonished that the Dhampire would be alive after all these years, but then again, he reminded himself, that Alucard contained the blood of a vampire as well as a human and would never age.

"Yes sir, the very same Alucard who helped Trevor Belmont all those years ago," replied Taven before going off again to help his brother.

Simon ran off to help the defenders of the village fight off the many earth demons from summoning up tremors in the earth and used his whip to snatch one out of the air. With a flick of his wrist, Simon flung the demon towards his other dark brethren and didn't stop to watch the demon implode in flames, as he was busy dealing with a pair of skeletons. Both skeletons wore leather armor and were armed with scimitars as they further attacked some of the villagers, but their movements were far from graceful as they often tripped over their own feet. It took all of thirty seconds to turn them into dust and then he was back to looking for whatever nightmare that still lay about. Overall it was easy to fight these creatures after having taken on Dracula twice, but all of the fighting had made him weary and there were so many of them, piling on top of each other with no end in sight. _This would have to be the work of a vampire summoning them from somewhere,_ thought Simon as he looked around to see where said vampire was. He didn't have to look far, for standing on top of a gargoyle statue was a figure dressed in black with long, pointed ears and all the features of a rat. Its fingers were long and pointed into was looked like claws, without a doubt it was the vampire he was looking for.

Taking out his golden dagger, Simon flung the weapon right at the vampire, only to have it deflected with a wave of its hand, but that didn't stop the Belmont from swinging on top of the roof via his whip and a pole. A hiss escaped the vampire's terrible rat like mouth that made it look hideous and it was a clear indication that it was one of the lower level Nosferatus, a failure who couldn't handle much of power and clung to the first powerful vampire who would take it in. Simon simply responded to the hiss by lashing his whip at its arm, hearing the sound of its arm breaking at the force of the whip and the Nosferatu jumped back and let out a weak fireball at him. Dracula's fireballs were much faster and more powerful than the pathetic camp fires that the Nosferatu threw at him so Simon dodged it easily while bringing his whip up to cut his leg off with his sword. With one final swing, the Nosferatu's head was left to roll off the roof and turn to dust before it ever hit the ground.

"Simon," cried Sonia as she fought another vampire to get to the man in black that had a small girl in his hands. "Help me! He's going to take Lydia away! Stop him!"

Reflexively, Simon leapt off the roof and rushed to fight the two axe armors that stood in his way, but they were already taken down by two werewolves who motioned for him to go on while they took care of the rest. Not wanting to debate this, Simon moved along until he was within two meters of the door to the house and he could see the short blond hair of the man as well as his eyes, his normal human eyes. Simon could never understand why anyone would want to serve a creature of evil like Dracula, but over time he came to see that Dracula was no more evil than the men who gave rise to him and that made him get a better understanding of Dracula and the humans who served him. It was not anger that Simon felt for the man, just an old cat's curiosity as to why him that he was working for Dracula, the question never answered as to why a man would sell his soul. Maybe it was the other way around, though, and the real question was why not, but such ideas were for another time and place.

"Let her go, cretin," commanded Simon as he stood in the doorway twirling above his head in his right hand, while leaving his sword in his left. "I will not allow you to take that girl for whatever purpose you have."

"Simon Belmont, odd that we are to meet now, but I suppose it must be fate," said the dark figure man as he put his hood back to show his full face that had pale skin and smoothed down into a round chin that wasn't chiseled, but still well formed. "We haven't been introduced, my name is Joshua Iscariot, devil forger, but it seems I am unemployed at the moment do to you killing my master, Count Dracula. My usefulness is in the making of weapons for my master, such as the sword that is by my side right now, but we have made other things with the use of devils."

"Why do you serve such a master," asked Simon as he looked the devil forger in his cold black eyes.

"My abilities make me an outcast to humans like you, my naïve friend," said Iscariot, chuckling slowly as he held out his hand to summon a small blue demon with butterfly wings. "I was given the choice of always being looked at like a monster and a freak or I could join Count Dracula and find a place where I could belong. Sure his ideas sometimes go against my conscience, but I would be able to tell it without being beaten. If I didn't agree with a decision then I could opt not to have anything to do with it. No one had ever shown me such kindness as Count Dracula had shown me."

"Is that why you wish to use that girl to raise him from the dead," asked Simon, a bit less hostile towards the devil forger.

"With this girl I plan to raise the woman I love from her sleep so that we can be reunited," replied Iscariot as he opened up a portal behind him. "Don't try to stop me, Belmont, because you would not succeed in tearing me from my love."

"Stop," commanded Simon as he rushed to the door, but it was too late as the devil forger was already gone. "I will hunt you down, Iscariot, and I will see that Lydia is free from your vile clutches."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Answers

Disclaimer: I do not own Castlevania no matter how much I wish it.

* * *

The little girl that she had tried to keep from danger was gone, leaving nothing behind but the vision of her pleading tear filled eyes as she was dragged away by the man in black and for the first time since she learnt of her father and brother's death, she felt like crying. It was unlike her to feel so defeated, after all she always worked to show her worth to her father and brother so that she could earn the right to call herself a vampire hunter. When she was little she would run through the woods, fighting the bears of the north, the panthers of the west, the snakes of the south, and the wolves of the east. Most of her life was spent trying to learn how to use a spear or a sword and now that she had gotten so strong and so skilled, she could nothing to save Lydia. She fought off her urge to cry and after getting her thoughts together, she walked to the inn that she was staying in and grabbed her weapons, The innkeeper had been eaten by zombies and ghouls while his eldest son died fighting off skeletons from getting to his family, just another pair of people she could save from death. After getting al of her equipment together, Sonia opened the locket that held the picture of her with her brother and father, and walked out of her room, setting a bag of gold for the grieving family.

"Where are you going to, Sonia," asked a familiar vampire hunter who was standing in the shadows of a corner.

"You know perfectly well where I am going, Simon Belmont," replied Sonia as she turned to face him, seeing the worry in his eyes as he tried to look serious and intimidating. "You are always too nervous to talk to me when I'm determined and you can't change my mind so why don't you stand her e and guard the town while I go and bring back Lydia."

"Sonia, you know not of the power of your enemy," warned Simon as he walked to her, to put his hand on her shoulder. "It is too dangerous for you to go off and fight this new foe after spending so much time fighting already. You should rest tonight."

"And wait for you tie me to my bed like you did the last time," asked Sonia as she glared at the offending hand. "Don't treat me like I'm a little girl, Simon, you know well that I can handle my own and that I don't need your help either. Just because you're a Belmont doesn't make you the best damn vampire hunter on the earth."

"I know that you want to go after him and bring him back, I do to, but you are not at full strength and the thing that killed your brother and father may still be there in the castle and this man may be stronger than him. I am not letting you make the mistake of going in there all alone."

"Then please do come along before I leave you there," replied Sonia as she got on her horse and started galloping away leaving Simon to be glad that he hadn't had the time to unpack yet.

With a whistle to his horse, Simon Belmont jumped onto Shadow Prey, as his horse was called, and started galloping after her, hoping to close the distance in between them. After a while Sonia began to feel drowsy and got off her horse to start camp, which was a relief to Simon, who had been running the whole night long. Unfortunately for Simon, he had never thought to put a tent in his pack and was forced to sleep out on the dirt while Sonia enjoyed the cover of a roof over her head to keep out the rain that had started to pour down on them. The night was a misty dark black that was only lit up by the moonlight and the bright stars that seemed to twinkle only for him. It was a grand feeling to be able to rest ones weary bones after non-stop fighting, but as he felt the awful weather against his face, Simon wondered if he was getting the good end of the deal. As he mused over the setting of the situation that his life was going through, a pair of boots found their way into his vision as his head was turned sideways and he looked up to see a pale faced androgynous man with long flowing white hair and dressed very lordly. The boots, while very tough, were eloquent and Simon saw the black clothes that he was wearing with a white shirt, looking every bit of a lord. It wasn't hard for Simon to realize who it was that was looking at since there were very good descriptive in the writings of his grandfather, but it seemed to be a very different experience to actually have the chance to look at the dhampire who had been referenced by two of his ancestors.

"Alucard, the rebellious son of Dracula I assume," said Simon as he looked at the dhampire and he found that the rain was no longer falling on him like it had a few minutes ago.

"Yes, the one and only, and you must be the Simon Belmont that I have heard so much about," replied Alucard as he sat down next to Simon, pushing the locks of his hair that were obstructing his vision. "You have defeated my father many times and I am sure that you can help me with the task that I have now, a task that you may already know of."

"You speak of the devil forger who attacked the town of Jabul," asked Simon as he sat up to look at Alucard.

"Yes, the one known as Joshua Iscariot, a devil forger by birth with one of the strongest devil forger bloods," replied Alucard as he began to unravel a piece of parchment that was used to document the records of each devil forger. "As his surname implies, he is a descendent of Judas Iscariot, the disciple who had betrayed Christ to the Romans and as legend says, those of his blood were master craftsmen and metal workers that could make weapons of great power and great destruction. His compatriot is also of a powerful bloodline, the family of Longinus, the Roman soldier who trust the spear into the heart of Jesus Christ to end his suffering and as such, those of his line can make spears with almost as much power as the spear of Longinus and at one time made great weapons for the Crusaders before they were nearly wiped out by Turk forces. It would seem like this Leto is the only descendant of Longinus that is alive."

"I thank you for the information about the man in black, but, without meaning to be rude, I would like to say that the information that I really want is information on what they plan to do."

"Their plan is to resurrect another vampire to occupy Dracula's throne while they wait for a time to revive my father," replied Alucard as he put the piece of parchment back into a pocket in his coat. "The vampire they wish to summon isn't as powerful as Dracula, but he is mighty enough to be a problem and if they resurrect Carmilla, then Castlevania will arise in the moonlight and give the vampire all the power he needs to destroy the lands. His range is not very far when compared to the range at which Dracula could extend, but there will be much killing and such a vampire as the one they wish to summon cannot be allowed to walk this earth. Even Dracula himself forced the vampire into sleep at his disgust in the vampire's blood lust and depravity. When Dracula deems a vampire is too vile to walk the earth, then that means that this vampire would have the wickedness to take the reins of Hell."

"Who is this vampire that they wish to summon," asked Simon as he looked at Alucard quizzically, a threat more evil than Dracula was a threat made by the devil.

"He is named Mobius, Mobuis the Watcher," replied Alucard. "He was one of the leaders of Spanish inquisition before he started to become mad with power and eventually planned to usurp the chief inquisitor, but his schemes were found out and he had to play innocent and lie low until his time came for another try. That time never came as he was soon accused of heresy and for stepping on a cross, some of the charges were true, while others were pure falsehood and he was forced to flee here where his sadistic nature piqued the interest of my father. At first Dracula thought of how he could use it, but over time he became weary of the cruel tendencies of Mobuis and staved off giving him the dark gift. This infuriated Mobuis by placing a halt into his plans, but he wouldn't let that stop him as he began looking for ways to get back at my father, even going so far as to forcibly take the blood from one of my father's favorite servants. This led to my father putting Mobuis into a sleep and locking the keys to his coffin where they remain only in the knowledge of a family whose name was left off from any record, but it remains known to all of those in the Tepes family. If Mobuis is to get Castlevania, he might try to steal my father's power and then humanity will know a dark age far greater than anything that Dracula had ever wrought upon them. "

"So you know of this family that holds the secret," asked Simon as he stood up to prepare for the journey that was ahead of him.

"Yes, but I will not disclose it now because we know not who may be watching," said Alucard as he too got up and brushed himself off. "First, we must let the Iscariot be for now."

"Not a chance," shouted a voice from behind the two men as a raging vampire huntress stepped into their discussion circle. "I will not allow that man to kill Lydia to summon whatever demonic whore that you named in you discussion."

"Iscariot will only do it when Leto can get the key to Mobuis's coffin," replied Alucard as he turned his charming gaze to her, much to Simon's chagrin. "Right now, we don't know where they are keeping her since Castlevania is gone and I am sure that we will run into Iscariot as we search for the whereabouts of the key."

"Fine, but I am not being left behind," declared Sonia as she crossed her arms.

"I never said you weren't coming I just said our course was different," retorted Alucard as he turned to Simon and gave him a "good luck because you are so going to need it" look. "We should leave in the morning when our enemies won't be as strong."

"I agree," said Simon as he looked at Sonia and she nodded her agreement with a sigh.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four: The Path that should not be travelled

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of Castlevania.

* * *

Simon Belmont stretched out his arm as he awoke in the morning to find that his new ally, Alucard, had already started to pack up his things as Sonia cooked breakfast in a skillet that had come from his pack. Not noting that fact, he got to his feet and started to fasten on his armor as he sat down for breakfast, which was served on the skillet for them to pick off of with forks. Alucard did not partake in the feast as he was unable to eat such food, it could actually heart him. After a quarter past 10:00, the trio settled back on their packs and started to ride off towards the mountains that stood between them and the family that knew the whereabouts of the key to the tomb of Mobius. In his mind he wondered about what lied ahead for them, but he decided that it didn't really matter, all he could do was walk the path that was set before him. The only question now was whether they should pass through the top of the mountain or to the bottom of the mountain, through the caverns that formed from long years of digging by the servants of Dracula, to bury the things they did not wish to ever bring back into this world.

"Well, which way should we go, it seems that the way before has split into two and I only know that winter is the worse time to go up a mountain," said Simon as he turned the Dhampire.

"It would be quicker to go through the caverns than under it," reasoned Sonia, who wanted to get Lydia back as quickly as possible, no matter what sort of danger she would face.

"To go under the mountain would prove more perilous than going above it," replied Alucard as he spat at the entrance to the caverns. "Too many evil things are under there for me to condone taking such a short cut."

"We're strong enough to handle such things, I doubt anything in there could be any worse than what Simon faced in the castle or I faced in the village," said Sonia as she looked at the entrance and felt the evil chill emanating from the inside of it. Over head a vulture flew above them and it seemed to be unlike any other vulture that she had seen feasting on the bodies of the dead and Alucard seemed to agree with her.

"They know we're going over the mountain and will probably send something after us," declared Alucard as he pulled his sword out and got ready to charge up the hill, but his arm was stayed by Simon.

"If they know we are coming from there then we must not let them see us and head into the caverns where there is only a threat instead of an assurance of evil," said Simon and Alucard relented to the vampire hunter. "Can horses fit under the cavern?"

"No, I will have to send one of my familiars to go and escort them back to our village for safety," replied Alucard as he dismounted in one quick and graceful motion. "I just only hope that what was meant to sleep was not awoken by my father's call or by the call of another."

"You worry too much, this is probably nothing too bad for us," said Simon as he too dismounted and went to help Sonia dismount from her horse, but she did so before he could.

"I can do just fine, Simon, you know I'm able," scolded Sonia as she walked off into the cavern holding her spear and sword close to her.

"Yes, you are able, but my heart is not able to bear the loss of you," muttered Simon as he walked onto the cavern, followed by the son of Dracula.

* * *

Inside was a myriad of caverns all enveloped in darkness except for the glow of diamonds and other gems that seemed to be pieces of the moon itself, all lighting the insides of the caverns. Stalagmites incased the ceiling, making it seem like the room where Dracula would impale his victims and give their blood to all of the weaker children vampires who had not grown into size yet. There was an ominous chill in the air as the trio went farther into the caverns, each corner becoming as dreaded as the last one and every shadow lending itself to the disdain of the travelers who braved through its dark aura. After coming to a crossroad, they stopped to take the time to decide which way to go since it had been ages since Alucard had travelled into the caves and it could be dangerous going down the wrong path. After choosing the darker path, the trio once again proceeded to walk down the dark narrow tunnels of the cave, moving out of the way of the stalagmites that extended down. It was then that came to a room that was done in the style of the inside of Ancient Egyptian tomb with piles of gold and other treasures surrounding a sarcophagus that was like a Pharoh's. This did not seem to sit well with Alucard who immediately became very nervous with the things that lay inside and started to back out.

"This was the wrong way, we must leave now," declared Alucard as he turned to walk out, but as instantly as he turned, the sound of bones cracking back into place filled the room as Egyptian warriors, or should I say the remains of Egyptian warriors came out of the piles of treasure with their curved swords ready. "We must go, NOW!"

"I think this is the right way, I just doubt it would ever be that easy to go along and you should be able to get by if your father made this place," protested Simon, but this did not help Alucard who was already drawing his sword to fight.

"Not this room, this room was created to keep a fierce Egyptian vampire from surfacing," replied Alucard as he shifted into a fighting stance. "Ihmotep, the rival of Ramses the Damned, and an enemy that was put to sleep since my father always figured he could someday make use of him like this. It may be too late to avoid this fight, but we can defeat him, as long as we do not lose our heads."

"You act like I make a habit out of that," laughed Simon as he removed his whip from it's holster and liberated his sword from its sheath. "Will he come about from the death of his servants?"

"Yes, exactly, but I expect his servants to place blood in his casket to awaken him," replied Alucard.

Before Simon could respond he saw that Sonia had already engaged herself into a fight and had taken out two of the Egyptian warrior skeletons that moved with a bit more gracefully than other skeletons would. Using her spear, she picked up a golden vase and flung it at one while kicking out the support for a pillar to a small wooden lookout tower, sending it onto another skeleton. The skeleton she had thrown the vase at ducked under it and was cut in half by her sword before having its head smashed by her spear. With one flick of his wrist, Simon sent his legendary whip into the face of one skeleton and threw a dagger at another skeleton, breaking the face of the first one and cracking the ribs of the second. After about an hour of fighting, Alucard sent in his bat familiars to ravage the rest of the band of skeletons and the trio prepared to fight whatever vampire would come out of the sarcophagus. A pale hand crept its way out from under the lid of the sarcophagus, letting the glow of gold and moon diamonds bask it, giving it some form of rejuvenation.

"Well then, I don't suppose you know anything about his ability to fight or any powers he might have," asked Simon as he moved closer towards the re-animating vampire, who stood at seven feet with long arms and auburn hair that was braided into a royal tail.

"I know that he has the power to shoot out electric bolts and is quite a fighter," replied Alucard as he stepped forward to use one of his fire balls on the Egyptian menace.

Then, Ihmotep spoke, his voice booming like thunder as he towered over the trio saying, "You who have come here seeking the treasures of a king, will find only the punishment of eternal torment in the pit of fire."

"You are a vassal of the house of Tepes and being the son of my father and not the ruler of the Tepes family, I order you to return to your coffin," commanded Alucard in a voice so fierce, that the Egyptian vampire was taken aback by the tone and almost did as Alucard ordered, but he stopped himself and grinned at the son of Dracula.

"SO Dracula is dead, and now only his whelp of a son is there to stand in my way, what a magnificent way to take the power of Dracula," exclaimed Ihmotep as he walked towards the Dhampire and was immediately knocked back with a blow from the blunt side of Alucard's sword.

"That is a warning, Ihmotep, another step in the wrong direction and I will remove your existence from this cave and this earth," warned Alucard in a voice that would rival a threat from his father.

The Egyptian did not listen and walked forward while unsheathing his shotel and swinging it at the son of Alucard, but Alucard was able to move faster than the Egyptian had predicted and was soon backhanding the Egyptian into a wall. Snarling as he got up, Ihmotep charged Alucard with greater speed that when he had first attacked and this time was able to force Alucard to block, but Alucard managed to do a quick fireball spell to burn half of Ihmotep's face. The skin repaired itself and Ihmotep went back to fighting Alucard viciously, while Alucard played a mellower defense, by instead of blocking his sword, he simply used his own sword to guide it away from him. This only served to infuriate Ihmotep all the more as he now started to leap into the air and come down with a might slash. Alucard back dashed out of the way of the attack and then summoned his bat familiars to fly into Ihmotep's face, making his vision unclear until it was too late and he was impaled by Alucard's sword.

"You should have listened to me," said Alucard as he stared into the eyes of his enemy and was surprised to find that his opponent seemed to be indifferent to the attack.

"Do not think that you have beaten me," said the vampire as he lifted Alucard and flung him towards a wall, but Alucard managed to rebound himself and onto the sarcophagus, which trapped his feet in binding as soon as he landed. "Your father would have never fallen into that trap, but I suppose you have more of your weak mother in you, that failure of a woman."

"You will do well not to mock my mother in front of me," warned Alucard as he seemed to emit a dangerous aura of blood lust that was all powering as well as intoxicating.

"The pathetic son of a pathetic mother," snarled Ihmotep as he spat on the ground in disgust. "I will never see what Dracula saw in that pathetic whore of human."

"I warned you not to, but now I cannot let you live for such words," barked Alucard as he let a burst of energy around him break the sarcophagus and then rushed towards Ihmotep with his bare hands, now grown into claws, and he left not a trace of Ihmotep to identify the vampire that had once been.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Danger in the Pass

Disclaimer: I do not own Castlevania or the characters that are a part of Castlevania.

* * *

They waited for Alucard to calm down a bit before they walked over and Sonia put her hand on his shoulder to see if he was back to normal. That demonic blood lust that was emitting from his body had chilled the bones in Simon's body and made Simon begin to question his new ally because he was, after all, the son of Dracula. After waiting for things to finally calm down, the trio started to walk out of the room through the opposite exit, walking past the piles of treasure that were amassed in the room, and they continued to explore the caverns that lay ahead of them. For a long time nobody talked about what had happened, it was unimportant and would only make the entire situation awkward, something they didn't need to happen at the first step in their miles long journey that would take them to far places. The coldness of the underground swept its chill into their souls, except for Alucard who felt at ease when it was cold, but for some reason felt to uneasy when he was put into a warm environment, probably due to his dark blood line. The darkness of the cavern was only remedied by the pale light of the moon stones and diamonds that seemed to be powered by the number of dark souls in that were buried deep beneath the caverns.

"Are you sure this is the right way," asked Simon as he began to find everything familiar and couldn't tell whether they were getting closer to the exit or just going around in circles.

"Everything seems to be coming back to me the deeper I go into these caverns, probably by some magic, of my father's," replied Alucard as he moved out of the way of stalagmite. "It seems that what was once just a feeling or instinct has become a recollection of my time travelling through these caves to see how the digging was going. We should be coming up to the passage out of here right now."

"Well it seems like coming through this way has not caused any great calamity worth mentioning unless you count Ihmotep," said Sonia and then they came to the pass that was right in front of them. "Is there anything important that we need to know about this pass, like anything that could get us killed?"

"Not that I can recall," replied Alucard, but he sounded unsure of himself, like there was something that he was supposed to remember.

"Well then I suppose it's good for me to walk then," said Simon as he took a step closer, but he was soon stopped by Alucard's hand on his shoulder. "What is it, have you remembered something about this pass that would make crossing it hazardous?"

"It's just an instinct, but for some reason it's not like the others, it's fainter," replied Alucard as he took his hand off of Simon's shoulder and stared at the ground before them. "I sense nothing from the ground except death, this is an ominous place."

As soon as the words left his mouth, dead hands with pale green rotting skin sprouted out of the ground like flowers and they reached out to grab at the Dhampire with their crinkled rotting hands, but were all crushed beneath his boot. The ground shook with such a force that it almost made Alucard lose his balance, but he was able to stay upright as corpses popped out of the ground, all with white eyes that showed nothing, not even the basic signs of conscious thought. It was only natural that the ghouls were mindless otherwise they would be a lot harder to control, but they weren't the best soldiers or guards. Slow moving and very awkward, the ghouls were easily destroyed by the lashing of a whip, the thrust of a spear, and the slash of a sword. Yet they weren't getting anywhere anytime soon as more ghouls popped out of the ground and it seemed as if there were a thousand corpses buried under the earth. Along the pass was a ridge line that was most likely used as a way to get by the ghouls, but at that moment it was the area of the heaviest concentration of ghouls, so it took a while for them to get to it. It was only after an hour of fighting that they were able to brush past the army of ghouls and by that time all three were tired from swinging their weapons to have to deal with anything else.

"Throw some holy water every ten feet so we can keep some distance," advised Alucard as he led the way out of the cavern through the pass.

Simon did as he was advised to do, heaving a bottle of holy water behind him to start a fire that would keep the ghouls at bay for a while. In the mean time, they made their way out of the cavern, finally catching scent of something other than rotting flesh and god knows what. They decided to rest for a while so they could regain their energy and plan for where to go to next. Alucard used one of his fire spells to start a fire, while Sonia cooked the game that Simon hunted from the nearby forest, surprising how many living creatures there could be next to a mountain of death like the one they had just left. The sun was just going down, an ominous time for anyone in Transylvania while evil still walked the earth.

"From here, we can head towards Borgo Pass and make our way to the forests of the north," said Alucard as he traced the trail on the map with his index finger. "From there we can pass into the family's lands right here, where people have long forgotten about."

"So how many people live on this land, might I ask," asked Simon as he ate his dinner of rabbit stew that had a savory spice to it that Simon had never tasted before.

"The last time I was there, I'd say about twenty people in all," replied Alucard as he folded the map back up and placed it into his coat. "Though we should be careful of watching eyes, we never know when they are watching us or how they are watching us."

"Are you sure the family hasn't died out already if there are only twenty people there, it must have had some form of famine from the times that Dracula ruled these lands," asked Sonia.

"My father gave them the key and told them to hide it, that key opens more than one tomb, my father was careful not to turn their lands into dead lands."

"That seems very kind and generous for Dracula," commented Simon as he put his plate down and started sharpening his golden dagger.

"Well my father has a hate for humans, but he will make an exception for some," replied Alucard as he got up and started to stretch out. "I'll check around to see if there is anyone watching us."

"Alright then, be careful you don't get hurt or killed," said Simon before Alucard ran off and he could hear the cracking of bones and the sound of a wolf. "So strange that we have such an ally, but then again, it is unfair of me to judge him because of his father."

* * *

Iscariot walked from the next rooftop to the other, tracking the man he was stalking as he went around in his ridiculous colorful coat and trousers. The man looked like some form of a clown, but that was not what Iscariot was concerning himself with, the only thing he concerned himself with was the information that the man had. Jumping down to the streets below, Iscariot made his way to the inn and tavern that the man was walking into, probably to enjoy the company of some woman of the hour that was waiting for that pretty silver that the man had in his pocket. It disgusted Iscariot how much the man was so fooled by the woman's tricks, being taken for a ride by her body. After two minutes, Iscariot walked into the inn and went up the stairs after paying the inn keeper the agreed amount of silver. He made sure his footsteps were very silent to mask his approach under the sounds of the grunts and fake moans before he slipped open the door.

"Sorry to interrupt her performance, but I have a few questions I would like you to answer," said Iscariot as he sat down on a chair next to the bed and lit his pipe.

"Look here, mister, if you want to talk to me you do it outside, don't come in here talking about this shyte," shouted the man as he moved to get his sword and he felt Iscariot's blade on his neck.

"Now then, you know where Elizabeth Bartelbey is, the only other relative of Dracula who knows where the family is," said Iscariot very slowly and calmly. "What I want for you to do is tell me where she is."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six: The Forest

Disclaimer: I do not own Castlevania, but I freaking wish I did.

* * *

The trail left behind by the watcher was very easy to follow, enough that Alucard was feeling a bit uneasy about the matter, as if something was about that could hurt him, yet he decided it was best left for another time. His every step was one of caution as he slowly made his way to the camp that the watcher had apparently been sleeping at, but he planned for himself to take another precaution for going into the camp. The air was cold that night, not that it was unpleasant to Alucard. More so that Alucard enjoyed it all the better because it was someplace that someone of his blood could live and thrive, unlike the bothersome hot day that had some affect on Alucard. He was never as strong during the day as he was during the night when his body was basked in the awe inspiring power of the moon, especially when it was a full moon. It was just another layer to the complicated being that was Adrian Fahrenheit Tepes, the son of the being thought to be the embodiment of evil. With one last look around him, Alucard stepped closer to the entrance of the camp and soon, a pair of boots were inside the camp.

* * *

Elizabeth Bartelby was a noble Draculina who lived in an old manor over the town of Janus, a small town located deep within Transylvania and as such had never been placed on a map because of how close it was to Castlevania. Her blood may have been noble, but she was described by one of the villagers as "bat shit" insane, which she did hear the comment, much to his later displeasure. At night she would bathe in the blood of young maidens, who were either snatched from the village or happened to be a poor unfortunate servant girl. To her, it was how she maintained her youthful appearance and how she ate during the evenings. She was related by a long blood bond to Vladmir Tepes, otherwise known as Dracula, which may have attributed to her families knowledge of black arts. Sometime during her sixteenth birthday and her sixteenth autumn, the villagers grew tired of her strange habits and rose up to overthrow her. Bound to help all of those related to his family and in order to expand his influence, Dracula gave her the dark gift, allowing her to put down the insurrection and kill all of the leaders of the rebels. It was by Dracula that she survived and now she was using her link with Dracula to fortify her holds in the lands surrounding Janus, especially from vampires coming to claim what Dracula had. After a decade of gathering power with the nosferatus of Germany, the low level vampires that looked like a mix of a spider and a rat, Elizabeth had managed to take over so much of the surrounding, larger, Murkwood town.

"And so why would you wish release such a loathsome creature into power to take over my father's castle," demanded Elizabeth of her guest, a devil forger dressed in black who had his hood down to show his auburn hair that seemed to contrast his pale skin. "Have you no loyalty for you old master, Iscariot?"

"No I have more loyalty that you could ever understand, for he was the one who took this worthless servant into his home," replied Iscariot as he bowed before her and waited for her blood lust to go down before he continued. "What Leto and I wish for is to have someone to protect the throne from those vultures that come in when they see that the old master is dead. You yourself know what happens to the castle and the throne of darkness when the master is killed. The last time this happened we had to kill of the offending vampire clan from trying to move in and your own power was threatened by that last clan war. The real problem was that we could all not completely organize ourselves due to central leadership and we need someone to sit upon that throne and continue Dracula's plans for humanity. All of those wishing to take the throne will go for him and not pay you any mind while you can use our own power to hold an influence over him. Despite his nature we could use him to our advantage, just like you have used so many with your own."

"I agree, it would be very useful to have him out," admitted the Draculina as she walked down the stairs and handed him a pendent. "This will lead you to the family, but you must watch Leto carefully since I have always found a bit of ambition him and such a move like this would be a perfect time for him to take the throne himself."

"He could never take the throne, even if he did have Mobius with him," laughed Iscariot as he got to his feet. "We would never allow it, not even the vampire hunters would allow a devil forger to have so much power."

"Still, I do not put it past him," warned Elizabeth as she looked into his eyes and then turned to walk towards her bath.

* * *

"I can't believe that you would fall for such a simple and obvious trick," said the lower level demon as he laughed at the son of Dracula who was bound by his binding spell. "I guess your father never advised you not to under estimate your enemies because you treated me as if I were some random lesser demon that they picked to do the spy work. I am a very crafty demon as I'm sure you're beginning to learn of right at this very moment."

"Actually I'm beginning to see that the only thing that exceeds your arrogance is your ability to chatter on about nothing in particular," replied Alucard as he smirked at the demon that had him tied up.

"Well it seems that your wit can't be contained by one binding spell, much to the displeasure of many I assume," laughed the demon as he mocked the dhampire hat was tied before him and then he was surprised to see the same dhampire disappear before him in a swarm of bats. "What? Impossible, I had him perfectly in my binding spell, the only way he could have done that was for him to not be there at all in the first place."

"So you aren't always stupid," said a familiar voice above him and in one of the trees stood Alucard, looking down on his prey with the smile of a ruler who had just tricked the enemy army into his trap and was now about to block off any chance of escape. "I figured I would have some of my familiars to assume a form similar to my own and if there was a trap then I would have you reveal your ace in the hole to me without having to suffer for it. Now then, we will resume this conversation, but this time on a different standing. Now then, where is the little girl?"

"You're still under estimating me," said the demon as he opened his cloak to let out a hail of spears to shoot out of his cloak and impale the dhampire to a tree. Upon a more thorough observation of the tree, it was observed that Alucard was not touched by any of the spears and the only thing that had come into contact with the tips of the spears was the cape that Alucard wore.

"You assume that I cannot simply do that or know every trick that you have," said Alucard as he swatted the demon away as if he were a fly and then brought his sword out and pressed the tip to the demon's throat. "You are not irreplaceable and if you die then another, more informed demon will take your place. Now tell me where is the girl before I have to bite into your neck for the answer."

"I was not informed of her whereabouts, I was only told to come after you," replied the frightened demon who had long since stopped laughing. "But if you spare my life I will tell you what Iscariot plans to do."

"Speak then, before I kill you here and now," commanded Alucard as he twisted the blade a bit to leave a small cut.

"Iscariot plans to learn of the family's location from your cousin, Elizabeth Bartley," said the demon quickly as he sighed when the blade was taken from his throat. "He will offer her a scapegoat for when someone wants to take the throne that Dracula left behind. The clan wars will be even greater now that old enemies have once again flourished, this is a storm worse than Dracula and many mortals will find death between all of this."

"Damn, it seems that I should have cut down more weeds when I was a child," said Alucard as he stood up and picked the spears out of his coat. Placing it on his head Alucard only said five words to the demon. "Get out of my sight."

"I would also worry about you Belmont ally," muttered the demon as he started crawling to his legs.

* * *

Sonia had already gone to sleep a few hours ago, but sleep seemed to allude Simon as he once again began to contemplate the situation of evil and where the great strength of evil was. If he looked at where it all stood, Dracula was apparently looked at as the immortal enemy of all good, the manifestation of evil that was supposed to unleash all of Hell's gates for one last great battle, but that hardly seemed like Dracula. It was after an hour of thinking that Simon came to the conclusion that Dracula was not the supreme evil being of the world, he was just a powerful creature that had pledged his allegiance to evil. True he wished the destruction of every human being on the face of the earth, but he could be redeemed to the light just as any human who did wicked things could come back to the all powerful redemption of the light. Sometimes he wondered if there was another way to help Dracula instead of defeating him at his every resurrection, but no other solution for Dracula seemed workable and so it would all end when Dracula wished it, strangely enough that in the end if Dracula decided he had grown tired.

"Such thing I suppose are only wishes that cannot be fulfilled," decided Simon as he stated to put out the fire when Vampire Killer began to stir, a vibration resonating as the response of a vampire coming nearby. "Come out, you have already been exposed by my sacred whip, Vampire Killer!"

"So it is true what they say about that whip," commented a vampire that belonged to a German clan known as Nosferatu, disfigured vampire who were more akin to the mating of a rat and a spider than a true vampire. "I have come to take your life, Simon Belmont."

The Nosferatu flew towards Simon, like a phantom in the night, with claws extended and his crooked misshapen fangs bared to the moon light. Simon, expecting it to make that move since Nosferatu's were known to possess none of the magic that real vampires have, lashed his whip at the creature, earning him a howl as the creature felt the blow on its shoulder. This did not stop the Nosferatu from coming at Simon, despite the damage done to it by Vampire Killer, but Simon was strong enough to grab the Nosferatu's arms and hold it so that it could not attack him. The pale moonlight hit its pure white flesh and only enhanced the horrid features of the creature, unlike when it was on other vampires. With his strength, Simon was able to keep the Nosferatu away from him with its sharp claws and hideous fangs that were like rat teeth snapping at the Belmont. Placing his foot into the stomach of the creature, Simon pushed it off with a great burst of strength that was unexpected of a human to possess, which may be why the Nosferatu was so easily caught off guard and before it realized it, the creature was flying into a tree. Moving fast, Simon jumped to his feet, turned and let fly a golden dagger that struck the Nosferatu square in the chest, causing it to burst into flames and turn to ash.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Warning

Disclaimer: I do not own Castlevania.

* * *

Simon just waited there in the silence of the night as Sonia still slept on, blissfully unaware of the Nosferatu that had just come to kill them and he sat down for a minute to stroke her hair. For a second there he was worried that the Nosferatu would catch the dagger and throw it back because then the creature could drink her blood while Simon dodged it. One bite was like the plague and it would be his entire fault if she were bitten, the worst thing that could happen to him. Not knowing what to do, Simon just leaned back into a tree and listened for everything that was happening around him, like the hooting of an owl and the howl of wolves as they gathered around in their packs. Most of the thoughts he was having were on his destiny and how much he could benefit by finding a list of all creatures that lay in sleep. He could ask Alucard but that might be against the dhamphie as it would be giving him all the secrets of the night, secrets that even those awoken in justice were honor bound to keep.

"What is that smell," asked Alucard as he stepped out of the shadows of the forest and looked around for the origin of the funny smell that was invading his nostrils and found that Simon still had Vampire Killer in his hand.

"A Nosferatu was sent to the camp to kill both Sonia and I," replied Simon a bit passively, but he was very worried about what had just happened before him and he his eyes start to falter a bit since he had been going some days without sleep.

"You should get some sleep or else you won't have the strength to fight tomorrow," said Alucard as he took his cape off and placed it on a branch. "I will be the one to guard this area while you get some sleep."

"What about yourself," asked Simon as he looked at his ally and his ally looked back at him with a semi-sad smile.

"A dhamphire such as myself needs nothing to keep me awake since I can go years without sleep," replied Alucard as he felt somewhat panged by that expression and knew that even though he was glad that he had the power to protect others, he was sometimes envious of other humans for being able to walk around without anyone looking at them in an odd manner.

"I'm sorry to have to bring that up," said Simon as he poked the fire and then lay on his back with a fur cape to cover him. "Goodnight, my friend."

"Goodnight," replied Alucard as he scanned the nearby area with his eye.

* * *

The sun rose over the crack of the hill tops, causing Simon to rise from his slumber as a ray of light penetrated his dreams. The night had given way to the day, a safe haven for any person who hunted the night and all of its children. With a yawn, Sonia rose from her sleep and prepared herself to continue the journey after breakfast. Alucard was unable to take a part in the breakfast because of his dark heritage, but he was able to talk and explain everything that he had learnt from the lesser demon that was trailing them. As soon as the breakfast was finished, the trio ventured out into the woods to find what they sought to keep out of the clutches of the devil forgemaster.

The woods seemed less oppressive during the day, but Simon couldn't help but feel a bit edgy about the forest and he was being followed by partners who weren't that edgy to begin with. It was something about the forest, maybe how cold it was or maybe because of how the wind blew through trees and would blows leaves around. At the sound of twigs snapping, Simon turned to see that they were being followed by none other than the very same devil forgemaster who had kidnapped the girl. Instinctively, Simon pulled out his family heirloom and swung it above his head.

"You have no need to worry of me, I come here unarmed and with a deal," declared Iscariot as he strolled in between the three and opened up his cape so they could take the sword he had by his side as a showing of good faith.

"Speak your deal, Iscariot, and we will see if it is to our liking," commanded Alucard as he stared at the forgemaster to make sure there was no lie in his words.

"I know that you seek the girl and I will give the girl to you as long as you do something for me," said Iscariot as he sat down before the two and started to fool around with a knife up his sleeve. "I love a draculina and she loves me, we would be happy together somewhere in these mountains praying on the wild, but I cannot get to her tomb for it resides in the same place that Mobius's tomb resides in. Now I am loyal to my mast and would like for the throne to be kept out of the hands of someone else as I am sure you all are so I propose that we work together."

"You are wrong about one thing," replied Simon as he glared at the man in black. "We are not just after the girl, we are after the key so that you cannot use it to summon your dark savior as you wish to cloud the world in darkness. We will not work with you, but you could always work with us, so long as you give up on your chances of resurrecting Mobius. If you have no other offer then I am afraid our time is done here."

"I second that," said Alucard and Sonia nodded at the words.

"Well I tried to do it the easy way, but I suppose I will have to make it hard for you," sighed Iscariot as he snapped his fingers and a portal opened to reveal many demons of different elementals along with spear knights. "I must take my leave now seeing as I have a family waiting for me so they can start dinner."

"I will see you dead, Iscariot," barked Simon as he lashed his whip out to grab one of the fire demons and sent it into a tree before bringing it back down with a spiked hitting it square in the chest.

"We'll see Belmont, I will so enjoy a duel between you and I," laughed Iscariot as he made his getaway.

Alucard watched the man run off before he turned his attention back to the pair of the spear knights that were slowly trudging towards him. With a swing of his sword, the knights were just a pile of armor with as much life as the dead ground that they had come from. The Dhampire, realizing that he was being surrounded by earth demons, reverted to his wolf familiar and rushed around the ground, jumping on the rocks that were rising out of the ground and then bit down into the shoulder of one earth demon, taking it down to the ground before jumping off its body to another one that was just about to summon the tremor that swallowed the corpse of the other earth demon. The other two that were circling around him were in such a panic that they grouped by each other and were both taken don by one mighty leap.

Sonia was faring just as good as she used her spear to turn most of the skeleton soldiers into piles of bones and dust with powerful swings that left a sound of air rushing. As she turned, she saw the scimitar of skeleton aimed at her head and ducked under it while kicking the skeleton in the leg, effectively breaking the bones. Sonia then brought her spear up till it was behind her head and brought it down on the skeletons skull, cracking it into half and leaving a fine white powder on the ground. Heavy footsteps behind her made her turn to see giant flame armor walking toward her with its large bastard sword in its hand and the rain started to fall from the sky, causing steams to erupt from its red armor that obscured her vision of the possessed armor. Using her spear as a catalyst, she drop kicked the armor, causing it to take a step back, but it quickly regained itself in time to swing its flaming sword at her. She sidestepped it and slashed at the joints with her sword until its arm was loose enough for her to kick off with her boots. She finished it off by slicing its head off to reveal an empty inside. She turned to see how Alucard was doing and after seeing that he was holding his own well enough she turned to check on Simon.

The Belmont was not fighting in a manner that would shame his family, more so that it would set the bar for how Belmonts fight as he lashed his whip down onto a pair of skeletons and the flung a dagger to take out one of the wings of an earth demon before he ran up to it to finish it off with his whip. The chained ball bashed against its skin, breaking it and effectively spurting blood from the wound as the demon thought no more. After a minute of thinking, Simon decided it would be better to use his holy water to set fire to the other enemies and then he used his whip and sword to take care of the rest of the enemies that were still alive.

"We should go before more show up," said Simon as he pointed to a way out that led in the direction that they were going. "We can cut through that pass into the town of Sumverinia and then to the lands of the family."

"That trail will delay us and our enemy knows where the family is hiding," argued Sonia as she picked her dropped pack up and started to point to the path they were currently going on. "If we just continue down the path we were travelling on we will get there quicker and be able to confront our enemy. Besides, I doubt he has the power to control the greater evils, just the ones that we have been slaying do far."

"Not unless Elizabeth Bartly gets involved with her own minions," said Alucard as he looked up the sky and then checked how the wind was blowing. "He went the long way, the way that Elizabeth Bartly always took because she liked the scenic route and as such would not know the shorter way. You two should turn that way while I bring about whatever help we can get on this matter."

"Yes that would be most wise," said Simon as he pulled his sword from a corpse of a demon and sheathed it. "Good luck, my friend."

"The same to you, but I warn you both, he knows a thing or two and my cousin is very well versed the ways of dark magic," warned Alucard before he turned into a swarm of bats and flew off into the night.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The Quick Route

Disclaimer: I do not own Castlevania.

* * *

After the departure of the dhampire son of Dracula, Simon Belmont looked to the vampire huntress that he was working with to bring an end to the evil schemes of evil men, and she just shrugged as to what to do. There really was no alternate choice besides going all the way back to the town from whence they had came, but it would be just like walking ahead and they had a little girl to save. Without a horse to ride on, the two enemies of the night walked onto the path that had been there as a shortcut to the family and by looking at the map, Simon could tell that Alucard had never trusted either of them fully because he hadn't given them the short path, he only told them the directions of the scenic route. Then again, Simon always kept his left hand to his sword because he had Alucard along with him so neither was trusting the other and Sonia had to depend on the other because they seemed to have all the answers that she needed to get what she wanted. From the path of the forest, the two made their way to a clearing that had an ominous stench to it that was making them gag slightly from the smell.

"What could be that odious stench," asked Simon between gasping for nice clean air or at least air that didn't smell like a latrine.

It was just a little too much for any normal mortal to bear by neither hunter nor huntress were normal and they were more or less on the same level of power as the things they hunted. Simon remembered that the Belmonts had been forced out of Transylvania because of that, but at the same time they were called back to once again take up their calling and destroy Dracula. Most of the political enemies of the Belmonts were silence after Trevor Belmont's defeat of Dracula, but those who wouldn't remain silent started to side themselves with the very same evil that they feared the Belmonts would become. Other than a few assassination attempts, the worst thing they had ever done was summon Dracula into this world with the blood of an innocent maiden. The master of the domain of the night was a ruler who made sure that only he could do grand things and if such a thing were to happen that would challenge Dracula's position as the supreme evil being then they would deliver the message to whoever was in charge of the Belmont clan or a nearby Belmont.

"I believe that we must be near to dead man's swamp by the smell of it," replied Sonia as she started to choke on the foul air and Simon quickly put a handkerchief to her face to make sure that she would be alright.

"I can see why there would be dead men around here, the smell could make a man rot instantly," said Simon with a smirk as he walked towards the source of the smell, knowing it to be the swamp.

"Or maybe the smell is of dead men," said Sonia as she started to back up a bit from the accursed swamp that threatened to swallow her in a fog of smoke from the corpses of the burned.

"Either way, it lies between us and the place where we want to go so we must venture onward," declared Simon as he walked forward hoping to reassure her with his own sureness of strength, but deep down inside he was getting a since of dread for what lied ahead. _People are singing songs of your journey and you're getting scared of a ghost story, how pathetic is that? Then again, my life centers around the ghost stories come to life by the evil in the hearts of men._

"I know that, but we must be on our guard for even you are not immortal, Lord Belmont," said Sonia, adding a little bit of sarcasm to the Lord Belmont.

"Despite the notions you are entertaining in your mind, I am not egotistical nor am I so narrow minded that I would consider myself immortal just because I was the one to defeat Dracula. I know my limits and I am only acting like this so you don't panic or anything."

"I am perfectly calm, Simon, I don't scare easily just because I am a female and not a Belmont," replied Sonia as she took a step towards the Dead Man's swamp and as soon as she did so a greenish hand shot up from the murky waters to grab her leg. "Ah, so that's why it smells so bad?"

"More importantly, that's why it's called Dead Man's swamp," said Simon as he took out a vial of holy water and poured it into the swamp, but all it managed to do is make the corpses in the murky water angry as fists shot out of the water with blue burn marks on the back of the hands. "Well I guess that isn't going to work."

"I think that, more importantly, they are coming out now," said Sonia as she backed away from the murky water that was rippling as the corpses of those who died in those accursed waters rose from the murky depths with their hands outstretched to drag whatever travelers had dared to disturb them.

With a flick of his wrist, Simon Belmont sent the whip cracking into the face of an awful looking corpse that was dripping the greenish waters from its beard and the face was immediately blown apart by the fire caused by the power of the whip and the sheer force at which the whip was lashed. The whip struck the other corpse in the chest, blowing a hole into it that caused a foul greenish blood to pour from its chest before it was finished off by a vial of holy water that burned the corpse behind him. Sonia hacked off the head of one corpses with her sword and then plunged a dagger into the skull of another while kicking a red corpse back into the boiling hot swamp. With quick thinking, she took a rebound gem out of her pack and then threw the gem at a tree with tremendous strength and the gem rebounded off of the bark, bouncing off and hitting other corpses.

"Come on, let's get to the other side before more arrive," said Simon as he started to run and he threw a cross out at the corpses that were going for him, the gold metal symbol burning through the corpses as they were purified into nothing but dust.

"You sure said it," exclaimed Sonia as she jumped over the wet, decaying hands that reached up for her leg. She immediately brought her spear down to break the hand, but another one reached up and touched her butt in a grab for her legs and was stomped to nothing but a disgusting pile of mush. "Even in death all men just want the same thing."

"And you'll find out just exactly what they want if you don't hurry along," said Simon over his shoulder as he jumped from dry marsh land to dry marsh land, avoiding whatever hand popped up and then he finally made it to the other side.

Turning, he saw that Sonia was still swatting her way through the marsh, her spear flying from hand to hand as it seemed like every lonely man who ever died on earth was trying to grab her and they were all getting places best left untouched by strangers. With a flick of his wrist, Simon let his whip out to lash at every hand that shot up to grab Sonia, never letting the leather whip rest as he sent Vampire Killer to the next target. By the time the hands had stopped popping, Simon was well on his way to dying from exhaustion while Sonia seemed to have taken her time and was well rested, a fact that may have made Simon a little pissed. For the first time since Simon had been a boy of twelve, he had to sit down and rest for a bit while someone else was rearing to go on ahead. She never said it because she knew why he was tired and that the fault partly rested on her, but he could tell just by the way she absent mindedly tapped her shoes on the ground. Before Simon could tell her to stop being too damn impatient, a sound of something wet and squishy mixed with the sound of feet on the earth that caused the two to turn. Standing there was a body that looked like it had worn out ten other bodies before it had been lost to the murky swamp and it looked like it used to be the body of a body builder because it's muscles hadn't decayed, nor had its strength as the powerful feet went down with tremendous thuds.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: By the Waterfall

Disclaimer: I do not own Castlevania and please review the story; I want to know what you think.

* * *

Simon had faced many things of frightening quality that made him want to gag, but this creature that was stomping its way out of the marsh was by far, the most disgusting monster he had ever laid eyes on. At the top of its head were many greenish brown hairs that was similar to the color of vomit, but that was only one of its many sickening qualities. The head was horribly misshapen to look like some form of pumpkin that had been smashed on one side and had only half a face while the other seemed to have caved inside. The right side, the caved in side, was missing the right eye and left only an empty socket that had maggots inside of it, while the missing eyes seemed to have taken residence on its shoulder, but had grown to a very large size.

"Such a thing is beyond even the horrid imaginings of Dracula," muttered Simon as he reflected on the other monsters that the No-Life Count had sent out to fight him. They were all classic monsters that were far from being the terror of the marsh that stood before him and for the first time, Simon was encountering a threat not of Dracula's creation.

"How could anything be beyond his imaginings if he is the supreme being of evil," asked Sonia as she backed away with Simon, her hand slipping into her pouch to take out a vial of holy water, which she then flung at the monster.

The clear glowing liquid turned into a blue flame that burnt the monster, but the monster seemed to call on the marsh to help repair the damage to its body, much like Dracula's familiars. Nothing that they did seem to matter as it easily repaired itself as soon as they had attacked it. Even Vampire Killer could leave no permanent damage, though Simon did notice that the over oppressive marsh fog seemed to weaken. _It uses the marsh to repair itself and relies on it for __strength_, realized Simon as he began to notice the correlation between the two evil entities.

"Follow me, I have an idea on how to defeat this thing," said Simon as he started running away from the being and soon found that it give chase only to a certain point at which he told Sonia to run past it as soon as he told her to. "Are you sure you know what to do?"

"Yes, dump holy water into the marsh as soon as I get past it," replied Sonia as she prepared herself for the dash of a life time. Simon brought his whip above his head and then snapped the whip so that the leather of Vampire Killer cut into the green flash of the creature, damaging the right side of its body and then he cracked the monster on its shoulder so that its right arm fell off.

"Now go," commanded Simon as he started to lash the left side of the monster.

Sonia heard the words even before he said them and was already way on her way past the monster with her sword out to defend herself it tried to attack her, but the creature was too concerned with repairing the damage to itself. She wasn't too sure about Simon's plan but she didn't have another plan to defeat the seemingly unbeatable creature so she went with his plan. Without a second thought or moment's hesitation, Sonia popped the corks off of the two vials in her hand and poured the glowing blue contents into the murky marsh water. The result was a blue flame appearing on the damaged side of the monster and she began to understand what it was that Simon had discovered about the monster's power. Quickly, she emptied three more bottles of holy water into the marsh and heard the shout of what sounded like a tormented soul that was being relieved of all its taint and corruption and the horrid smell was vanquished by the purifying burn of the blue liquid. As she turned around, she saw the image of a handsome man with a chiseled jaw, auburn hair and pale blue eyes that were glowing now because of the man's status as a spirit. The image of the man soon disappeared and the only handsome man left was the red haired vampire hunter who had his red armor on with the same black leather shorts that were just an inch from his knee.

"I guess your plan worked," said Sonia as she slumped to floor and noticed how she had some muck on herself, including her dirty blond hair. "I desperately need a lake to bathe in."

"According to the map, there should be a cave inside a water fall that you can get washed in and we can rest at," said Simon as he wrapped the map up and placed it in the leather sleeve that Alucard had given him to use. "I don't think you'll mind the distance that is unless you wish to bathe in the water of the marsh, even though it is quite clear now."

"NO," shouted Sonia, but she then caught herself before she revealed a weakness to Simon who was most likely trained to go days without a shower, having done so already when he fought in Castlevania and again when he fought for the body of Dracula. "We need a place to rest and we don't know if the taint is fully purified since even a small portion could have survived."

"I see," replied Simon, knowing full well that she was only trying to cover up the fact that she couldn't stand not having a bath, but decided to just let her be for now and tease her about it later. "Well then, do you wish to lead the way or should I?"

"I'm not the one who's been looking at the map, Simon," replied Sonia as she motioned for him to move forward and he did so, making sure to stand on the side of the water just in case something splashed.

* * *

Simon Belmont may have been taught to live off the wilderness and lived in an area that said that washing regularly would only increase the risk for disease, but he had learned long ago the importance of a bath from the men of the east during his travels. Most Belmonts bathed regularly as a result of their experiences with the rest of the world and maybe that had made other people fearful of the Belmonts, but it had made them live much longer than the other people. As a habit of his, he would feel quite odd if not bathed once every day, his skin would feel irritable in places and soon he found himself softened by the lack of bathing, but he adapted soon to the harshness of having to go without baths, but he hadn't had a bath in a while and the falls were a perfect place to bathe. He divested himself of his armor and clothing and stepped into the water with only his weapons belt on him, even though Alucard had written that there was a holy barrier on there. After fighting the creatures of the night for so many days without a good amount of relaxation he soon found himself melting away in the water of the lake with the splattering drops from the water fall hitting the rocks massaging his back with their gentle platter on his aching muscles.

"I see you are enjoying yourself very much there, Simon Belmont," said a feminine voice that could only belong to one woman and that voice made Simon lift one eye, but he also adjusted his short sword so that its length would shield his own length, he did not want to appear indecent n front of Sonia. Simon Belmont had been educated to be a gentle man. "I see that you are quite the gentleman, but you can save it for me, I don't want to case you any inconvenience if I am to join you."

"Join me," asked Simon astonished by her sudden openness when she was quite red when her battle skirt was torn in battle in the cave and had to run in nothing but her undergarments. Now she wore pants.

"Yes, I feel it would only be right that I not inconvenience you by asking you to leave and I am afraid that if I wait and you wish to leave it would be me holding us up," replied Sonia as she began to strip herself of her own armor and undershirt as she then went to her own trousers that came off quite easily leaving her in nothing but her undergarments. Normally she would wear armor over a green leotard, but now she felt like covering herself up more since there was a resurgence of men in the village.

"No that is not true," said Simon as he looked away from the sight of her bare breasts like a gentleman should, but he soon heard her getting close to him and he knew there was no mistaking her actions now. "I would have insisted that you rest and I would have rested as well because I want you fighting fit. To lose you in battle would be too much for me to bear."

"As would the same be said if I lost you in battle," admitted Sonia as she sat in the surprisingly warm waters of the water fall. "I was wondering what Alucard meant when he said it would always be the right temperature for the right moment."

"Yes I suppose warm water is the perfect water for any time," replied Simon, not understanding her meaning.

"That is not the moment I am referring to," said Sonia a bit sharply, but it wasn't out of annoyance or some form of anger, it was out of a determination to get her point across. "There can be no lie in the words that you and I have feelings for each other, feelings that go beyond basic companionship and past lust."

"Yes there is no lie in me saying that I love you Sonia Baldwin and I now know that you feel the same about me," said Simon as he turned to face her now and he could see that she was so close, her lips only an inch from his own and he could feel her breath against his lips as she whispered.

"The road that lies ahead does not seem very bright and I don't want to die without doing this with you," whispered Sonia into his lips. "If tomorrow is the end of us and this earth, then let us have this night by the water fall."

Their lips met with love as Simon picked her up and carried her next to the light of the fire, her arms wrapped around his steel like muscles. She gave him the go ahead to penetrate her and break down the virgin doors that seemed to fall beneath battering ram on the first thrust. Not wanting to cause her much harm, Simon waited until she eased to the intrusion and then started to move slowly in about of her while she clung to him, moving between pleasure and pain, but she was moving slowly to the pleasure. Soon she was moaning with pleasure at the mastery of his thrusts and was overwhelmed by the filling of the void that she was experiencing, enough to make her forget her surroundings. The sounds of their love making filled the air as they slowly reached their climax and were left, spent and tired next each other and the fire. He wrapped his arms around her and told her that he loved her and she replied saying that she loved him as well. They fell asleep in each other's arms.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Whip of Fire

Disclaimer: I do not own Castlevania or any of the characters.

* * *

Simon slept soundly in the cave as he lay next to Sonia, her warm body heat helping fight off the cold of the night that threatened to freeze them as soon as they left the comfort of their warm lake. His muscles didn't ache or wake him up with their aching. It made him feel much safer with her in his arms, as if he could just always trust that his light would help him in the darkness, but at the same time be the darkness that tones down the light when it gets too bright. A hand moved up his side as she slowly stirred with the arrival of the morning sun rise and she yawned tiredly from all the work of yesterday and the love of the night, but she could manage to move at her normal pace, maybe even better. Slowly she rose from his body, the loss of heat telling her that she was naked and she looked down to see that he was as well. As she was adjusted her undergarments consisting of various minor cloths made to cover her breasts and vaginal area, clothing that she had picked up from the east, she started with her blue shorts that went with her blue coat and place armor over it.

The smell of the pipe told her that they were not alone in the cave and she followed the sent to a strange man dressed in a simple red robe and sat on a fine cushion. He looked like a noble, but he had many things around him that were more of the stock of a merchant with a stick beside him. He seemed to have noticed her presence despite the fact that he had his back to her and she could see his long black hair dripping past his shoulders. It was very elegant, despite the fact that it was not tied in a pony tail or curled at the ends, like most nobles did.

"Morning greetings, Lady Stranger," said the man as he looked through another book and set it back on a small shelf, which showed that he had set up a permanent residence.

"I am sorry if this is your domain, we were very tired and were told to come here by someone," said Sonia with a bow for politeness to the ruler of the cave or whom she thought was the ruler. "I am Sonia Baldwin and I am travelling with my companion, Simon Belmont."

"Yes, Alucard did say you were coming here," replied the man with a wave before another book from the shelf opposite of him flew to his hand. "I am D. Schneider, a wizard in service to the Tepes family or more accurately, I serve lord Alucard by keeping up this safe ground. You will find yourself safe from everything here so long as I still have life in my hands."

"It's odd that a wizard would be helping," laughed Sonia as she sat down and thought on what she had just said.

"Wizardry and witchcraft has been a thing used by both sides. Was Sypha Belnades not a practitioner of witchcraft when she helped Trevor Belmont defeat Dracula in 1491? Those church men are so blind, keeping people from being healed by the natural herbs and powers that God put on this earth, they just want God as one who demands we suffer. It makes him seem less merciful and helps them get more followers through fear."

"But the Church is in the service of God, not of the service of themselves or greed," protested Sonia through a strange religious reflex. "It was the Church that provided shelter for the Belmont clan."

"They are still human as well; they are still vulnerable to the weakness of pride and arrogance that they are all right and every other opinion is wrong. It is because of the Church that Dracula has an intense hate of humans through their witch hunts, by burning innocent women. One of those women happened to be Lisa, the wife of Dracula and the mother of Lord Alucard, a woman who was kind enough to use her knowledge of herbs to heal people. She was burned at the cross by the very same people she had worked to heal. There is your Church at work there."

"There are faults with the Church, I will admit, but still they have helped Transylvania," retorted Sonia as she looked up from the book that she was examining and saw that the izard was reaching into a chest. "Just what are you doing there, Sir Schneider?"

"Doing exactly what I promised Lord Alucard I would do, I am helping you," replied Schneider as he pulled out a strange red gem from the chest and held it out to her. "The original creator of the Whip of Alchemy, the whip that became Vampire Killer, had always wished to use a few Elemental stones with his whip, but they required someone with a blood for magic. I don't know if Simon Belmont has much magic in his blood seeing as how I have not heard of him using such things, but I am certain that he would be able to call upon the powers of these gems. That Belnades blood is in him, whether he wishes to acknowledge it or not."

"I am not uncomfortable with having the blood of a long line of powerful spell casters," declared Simon as he strode into the chamber of the cave, his hands brushing against some of the pointy ends of the cave walls. For most of the cave, the walls were very slick and seemed to have been molded to resemble solid structures, but at the entrances it seemed to have many spikes protruding from the walls as if they would extend at the notice of the wielder. "I am not one of the Church missionaries who preach their fire and brimstone for us to bow down. I know it is not by God's hand that we suffer for then there wouldn't be ways to make things easier if he didn't want it. Transylvania is far from a place where we punish those who practice witchcraft ever since Sypha Belnades helped my ancestor and bore his child."

"Ah, so that is the spirit of the man that defeated Count Dracula," exclaimed Schneider with a hearty laugh, as if Simon had given the right response to a question unspoken. "I have respected the Belmonts for many centuries and now I see that I may have been wrong not to admire you as much as I should have. I am honored to give you the fire stone, one of the seven stones of elements that will give you greater power."

Simon accepted the stone graciously, saying, "I thank you for your help and for you giving me this power."

"You are quite welcome Belmont and I will be glad to sell you a few potions," said the wizard as he clapped his hands a chest flew open showing many items of magic such as potions and pieces of armor or clothing with different attributes."

* * *

The two vampire hunters left the cave to continue on their journey and they soon found themselves in another dark forest with trees towering over them to blot out the sun. Of course they had started their journey a few hours before noon so they were certain that it could not be night already. Either way the minions of the night walked the earth and they had their sights set on the Belmont that had just walked into their territory. As soon as Simon had walked into the forest he had his newly flame augmented Vampire Killer out and Sonia was prepared to shoot out whatever she needed. It was like waiting for something bad to happen, but the evil didn't appear to be coming so they relaxed their guard until out of nowhere came a howl of a wolf. Simon snapped to alert as a pair of skeleton swordsmen came out ready to kill and both found themselves burned to cinders by Simon's flame whip which had all of its power. To make matters worse for the pair, a golem walked out to kill them, bringing its terrible clay fist forward in a punch that Simon jumped off of and threw a vial of holy water at one of its dry arms. The water seeped into the cracks caused by the creator of the golem neglecting to smooth and moisturize its clay so it became very dry and cracked. Blue flames popped out of the cracks of the arm and soon the arm was all gone, but the golem felt none of this.

Slipping a golden dagger into his hand, Simon let the blade fly into into the air, striking the golem right between the eyes before; hitting the letters on its head so that all that was left was met (meaning death, the same manner in which the merchant used to dispose of the golem in the original tale). The clay behemoth fell apart, chucks of its clay falling on other skeletons that had crawled out of the bushes to attack and soon it was nothing but a big mound of clay. Everything seemed to easy for Simon to feel comfortable with, but he decided to ignore it and go on before he heard the fluttering of wings over his head. It was the same giant bat that had plagued him in all his quest's against Dracula, except now it had another set of arms, no given to it by one of the devil forges. The bat came in low with its wings spread around, cutting through trees, and its arms ready to grab Simon by the throat. Sonia, in an effort to prove her worth, took out a holy arrow, an arrow blessed by a priest, and set it loose with a slow thumping noise as it whistles threw the air and caught the bat in the middle of its abdomen. The bat, however, was not dead and now shot out three fireballs at Sonia who dodged the attacks but felt the painful sting of a bone being knocked against her back by a skeleton. With a quick spin, she managed to cut the skeleton in half with her sword and was almost caught by the bat if not for Simon jumping on top of it and wrapping his whip around its head, burning it off.

"Thank you for the assistance," said Sonia as Simon landed next to her, a bit out of breath, but with a smirk on his face. "I am sorry for being a bit of a burden."

"No, that was the distraction it needed for me to get on its back," replied Simon as he hugged her and pressed his lips against hers. She returned the kiss as she felt a burst of strength from his love, but their moment was interrupted by the sound of wolves stomping the ground and they turned to see one standing before them.

"I am sorry to disturb you and your mate, Lord Belmont, but I am here to inform you that you are not far from the house," said the were-wolf as he bowed before the Belmont, his pants a bit stretched by his size, but they were made for that purpose. "We are here to guide you to the clearing where the ferryman will take you for a gold coin."

"Thank you, kind friend," said Simon as he bid the were-wolf to stand up and followed him to the lake side where a ferryman stood waiting, his bony fingers tapping the wooden oar in his hands. "Thank you for your help, noble wolf, I shall remember this as shall my descendents."

"I wish you good luck on your trails, Lord Belmont," said the wolf as he parted and left Simon and Sonia to board the ship.

"Do you have a coin for the ride," said the ferryman slowly in his usual raspy voice with one of his skeleton hands held out to take the coin that Simon gave him.

"I believe you know the way there," said Belmont as he sat on the small boat alongside his lover and soon to be fiancé.

"That depends, do you know where you wish to go," replied the ferryman as he looked at Simon through the darkness of his hood.

"We wish to seek the house of the family that has the secret everyone wants," said Simon boldy as he saw to his relief that the ferryman understood and started to row to the unknown.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Over coming weakness

Disclaimer: I do not own Castlevania or the characters, those all belong to Koji Igarashi.

* * *

The air of the lake or river was very cold and filled with a depressing atmosphere that had as much cheer as a tombstone with only the sound of the ferryman's oar diving into the water to be heard. From the fog that surrounded them arose a dank smell that smelt like mildew or something else long decayed by age and water. It was hard to see if they were on a river or some lake because of the heavy fog that blocked everything out of view, but Simon could sense when mermen came close for his whip resonated when they came close. So far it seemed like they would have a peaceful though somewhat unpleasant trip to the house until a splashing sound came out and one of the mermen that Simon had been sensing jumped onto the boat and he was forced to kick it off instead of using his whip for it could set the whole boat on fire and he was surrounded by ocean. The Belmont may have been able to use the power of the flame, but he had to admit that his own powers of using them were less than what they could have been. After this he could only hope that there was someone to increase his magical ability and to use it properly, but for now he would have to make do with his weakness.

Instantly he realized that there was another major weakness for his whip now since it would be of no use against beings made of fire. He had put himself in a very bad position and he was with no way to reverse it, if only he could get his hands on something that could help or if he would have bothered to ask the wizard. Now was not the time to lament on such things so all he could do was hope that he could find a way for it to be of use. If all else failed he still had a sword that he could use for fighting monsters, but how good that sword would be he knew not.

"Is there something wrong, Simon," asked Sonia as she looked at him, but he didn't want her to worry about such things.

"No, it's nothing I was just wondering if there was any way to make this boat a little more cheerful," said Simon with a fake laugh to put her mind at ease, but Sonia had a way of reading someone and she could tell that his fake laugh only alluded to a greater danger.

"Please Simon, if I am to be the woman that marries you, you must be ready to tell me the truth," said Sonia as she rested her hand on his and then looked at how troubled he was. "You didn't use your whip which means you were afraid that you might set the boat on fire. Can you not control the flame, is that what bothers you?"

"Yes it does, for now I have left myself vulnerable to any and all threats that are of fire," replied Simon as he looked away and then he felt her move his head so that he was looking into her eyes and then she kissed him.

"You will find a way to control it, you always do find a way," said Sonia with a smile that seemed to lift Simon's weary soul.

"If you are looking for a way to control the power of that stone, you should go see the Venus," said the ferryman as he stirred the boat forward.

"Surely you do not mean to tell me that I must seek help from the Roman goddess of love," laughed Simon, but then he noticed the ferryman was looking at him.

"She will have a challenge for you, but if you can make it then great shall your reward be," said the ferryman as he seemed to stop. "She is not a goddess, but she has enough power to keep herself alive for many years. She is now more than a thousand years old and she can help you with your quest if you are brave enough to face it, but it will cost you another coin for the detour."

"Fine then," said Simon as he reached into his pocket and handed the ferryman another coin. "Take me to Venus."

* * *

The home of Venus was a strange island that was of Mediterranean quality despite not being in the right climate for such an island. The vegetation grew from luscious vines and trees that all seemed to be something of a natural beauty, like a painting of old about the old Roman mythology, particularly the works of Homer. Simon could only hope that he would not be Odysseus walking into the home of Cyra as he made each step towards the temple like house that seemed very odd to be out in that area. Adorning the steps and the columns were olive vines that twisted around them like a snake. Stepping pass the entrance of the temple, the Belmont noticed the lavish décor of the temple with much furniture dating back from Ancient Rome and the rooms were lighted by torches on the walls. It seemed exactly like the place a Roman goddess would live in.

In the center of the temple was a courtyard that was home to a very beautiful garden with only one each type of rose in the world and an assortment of other flowers. Tending to the garden, was a beautiful golden blond woman, whose hair hung down low and curled out in the end with frilly locks. Her shoulders were well relaxed which showed that she had nothing of the troubles of the world and she was endowed with large sized breasts which were perfect shape, round but not overly large or pointy. Her eyes were pure blue that seemed to be as vast and infinite as the sea, a purity that was very rare to see in women, as was the rest her as if she was made purely for the seducing of men. It was amazing that Dracula hadn't tried taking her himself since he was a creature of desire, but this location was probably known only to the ferryman.

"So, he thinks that he has found a challenger worthy of claiming the orb of control," said the woman as she turned around and set her beautiful seductive eyes one Simon and he could already feel something pulling himself closer to her. Simon was able to resist through his iron will, but now he had an idea of why she had the name Venus. "This should be amusing to watch, I must say it's not every day when a girl could have Simon Belmont, the handsome warrior who defeated Dracula, right here in her home."

"I will not trouble you for long for you see, we have a long journey ahead of us still," said Simon as he stepped forward and he began to feel the pull become greater as he moved closer towards her.

"Well then, I hope you and your lover can survive this test," said Venus with a slight giggle that didn't seem threatening until she started to move forward towards Simon and he could feel the pull growing.

Sonia could see there was something wrong with Simon when she noticed how his light blue eyes suddenly became more focused, as if he were trying to find some secret in the woman that stood before him. It could not be denied that Sonia paled in beauty when compared to the Goddess of love, whose body was something that made every man go crazy, enough to cause kings to lead armies and to send millions of gold and gifts, if only to spend a night with her. This was what she feared, from having no ability to hide the fact that she had a lot of tomboyish habits, things that she felt were unattractive and though she wanted to be more feminine, she couldn't help but think of what would happen were Simon to set eyes on a woman who was far more beautiful than her.

Her nightmare had, as suddenly as nightmares turn bad, come to life before her eyes and she could see herself losing that charm in her life. She hated to think of a night when she couldn't be held by his strong arms or when she couldn't run her hand through his long red hair that seemed to never become messy, as if the wind itself combed it. To never hear his low chuckle that she found very dashing of him or to hear him when he would entertain her by singing songs that he had learned from other lands. She didn't want to lose Simon, but she could see that Simon hadn't taken a step back and Venus was coming closer to her lover. When Venus was close enough to Simon that her lips were nearly touching his, Simon did something unexpected. He put his fingertips to her lips to fend off her kiss.

"I am terribly sorry, Goddess of love, but I already have a lover and I must stay true to her," said Simon as he finally took a step back and looked at Venus's smiling face.

"You have done well to pass my test, Belmont," said Venus as she went to one of her flowers and pulled an orb out of the center of the flower. "This orb will help you in your ability to control the whip, all you must do is think of your whip imbued with whatever available elemental stone of your choice and when you wish it to be normal then think of your whip without the elemental power."

"Thank you, kind Goddess," said Simon with a bow as he turned to leave the temple and return to the ferry.

"Before you go, I must give you this," said Venus as she tossed a stone out to Simon, who caught it into his hand. The stone had a very light blue color to it, much like Simon's eyes, and it had a slight chill to it, like ice in his hand. "It is one of the elementals tones, the elemental stone of ice, use this to your advantage and with your orb of control, it will also work with your other weapons. I wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you," said Simon as he walked off.

"And Sonia," said Venus causing the vampire huntress to turn and face her. "You are a very lucky woman to have such a man."

* * *

Iscariot stood on the edge above the cliff as he waited for the bridge to form with the help of the earth demons that he had summoned. It was a nuisance that was not on Elizabeth's map, but then again she had probably not come this way for ages and the bridge had probably collapsed over time as the wood decayed in the Transylvanian weather. After the bridge was done, Iscariot made his way to the other side of the bridge, glad that he had the ability to summon his creatures. If he didn't have that little ability he would have long since been burning forests in rage at the annoyances that this trip seemed to have hidden in the detail or the lack of detail. _Maybe next time that bitch could give me a map not based on its status two centuries ago,_ thought Iscariot as he made his way past the bridge and up to a rocky cliff terrain that he had to step carefully less he end up at the bottom of the rocky mountain with a thousand pebbles imbedded into his back and his brains all over the rocks. Deciding that he was tired of moving as such a slow pace down such a mountain, which was doing his boots little help, Iscariot called upon his earth demons to pave a way for him down the hill. They did this with ease and then departed, leaving the devil forge to run down the mountain at a comfortable pace so as not to be beaten by the Belmont and the other vampire hunter, the lovely blond that he was with.

_Carmilla__ is so close to being awaken, I can smell her perfume already,_ mused Iscariot as he jumped the rest of the way down and landed on a tree branch. Though it was out a distance, the house of the Lecarde's, a family long since trusted to be the keepers of the key because of the weak ancestor who promised to serve as the guardian of the key so long as his life was spared by Dracula. That had exiled them to that plot of land surrounded by monsters, waiting until the day that Dracula decided that they could step down. No other human family had the luck to agree to serve Dracula before he grew to hate humanity, and no other family was safe from his genocidal designs. Iscariot and Leto were assured that they would be allowed to become vampires.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: The Family.

Disclaimer: I do not own Castlevania or any of the characters because if I did then I would be making a remake of Simon's Quest.

* * *

The land on which they landed was very cultivated, with soft rich soil that was nothing like the dead desolate soil of Transylvania, and there was a different since of living that was found in every other part of the world except those that had experienced the terror of Dracula. Apparently Simon was begging to get an idea of why someone would ever consider joining with Dracula, but he still didn't see what would make a man actually do it. As he helped Sonia out of the boat, he bade the ferryman farewell and waved at him as the boat departed from the land.

"Now then, I believe we were sent here to accomplish a specific task that we must meet," said Simon as he set off to find the main house where the family would live.

He was amazed to see that the town that had originally been established there was almost a ghost town, filled with empty stores that still had useful items there including food, which both Simon and Sonia had run out of yesterday and were without a means to eat because the only living things were the terrible creatures of Dracula. Setting a few gold pieces on the table to cover expenses, Simon Belmont went to the shop and took a few crops while Sonia went to work gathering eggs and chickens. After making a decent meal in one o the cooking areas of an abandoned inn, the two went off to check for a place filled with living people. It was a bit unsettling for Simon yet he was use to being in places where there were no humans. The only thing was, this place was supposed to have people in it that had been seeking sanctuary from them and now it was nothing but a shadow of its former self. As ominous as a howling of some godforsaken creature under a full moon, like father like son, like Dracula Tepes.

After walking farther into the town he felt the smell of something rotten and disgusting as he was soon beginning to feel a sense of dread in his stomach as he begin to wonder even more why there were no people. It was a very familiar smell of mass slaughter that he had often smelled in the room of Frankenstein's monster. The scent that Simon was smelling was all too similar to the scent of the dead bodies that were used to create the monstrosity, the leftovers more to speak. There was a slight tearing sound in the distance and Simon couldn't help but rush off to find the source of the sound. He soon came to see a pile of corpses, all members of the town who were slaughtered and some of them were women and children, but most of them were torn so that a person couldn't distinguish man from female, child from adult and it all seemed to come down on Sonia the most who had never witnessed such a massacre. Simon had though, he served in armies sometimes and experienced firsthand, the atrocities of war. He walked around the piles of bodies and couldn't help but feel like he was going throw up, yet he didn't throw up, he just made a slight chocking sound and then walked past all of it to the thing that was making the tearing sound. He found that it was a grumbling were-panther tearing into a woman who looked like a teacher while she was trying to protect the surviving children.

It didn't take long for Simon to destroy it, the leather went cracking into the monster's back and it howled in pain as it was cut through by the powerful leather weapon and the he tossed a dagger at the head of a skeleton and heard its skull crack, but he already had his back turned to the skeleton as he swung his whip, causing all its other buddies to crack into a fine white powder. Sonia was also going to work as she used her sword to cut into the monsters and found that there were a lot more coming their way. Simon rushed out to meet them as he threw dagger after dagger until it looked like he was going to run out, but he soon found that it was only the beginning as other monsters were being torn apart by powerful cuts of a spear. He turned to see Sonia fighting alongside him as she spun her spear above her head and brought it down on the head of one of the advancing devils. She gave him a smile as the two continued to fight the army of Darkness, whip, spear, and sword flying through the air until most of the army was reduced to nothing and the two were weak and tired.

"It's alright kids you can come out now," said Sonia in a sweet voice and she watched as ten small children walked out of the shed that they were hiding in and they all rushed to hug and thank their saviors.

"It's him, Simon Belmont, the one that father was talking about," cheered one of the kids as he hugged Simon's knee. He was very young, about six, with a shock of course black hair that made him look like some kind of wild child, but he was well dressed like a young noble.

"And just who might you be," asked Simon Belmont as he looked down and then noticed that there was something about the kid that he felt would later make him a great vampire huinter.

"My name is Robert Lecarde, and I was hiding with my friends Alan Graves and Frederick Kirshner. "Thank you Lord Belmont, I'm sure my father will reward you wants he gets done fighting the man in black."

"The man in black," asked Simon quizzically and then a sudden realization came to him. "You wouldn't happen to mean a man named Iscariot would you?"

"Yes that's the very same man ….he came here and… he started summoning monsters to kill people," replied the boy, but he seemed to falter in his speech at the last moment out of the pain of the memories. "We were the only ones left, all ten of us and our teacher, but the monsters were closing in and our teacher stepped in front of them to make sure they didn't get me. I didn't want her to die if I could have stopped the killing by giving myself up, but she wouldn't let me go to them, instead she stood in the doorway so the monster hurt her and then it hurt her again and again. I was so frightened that the same thing would happen to my friends when you came and saved us. The Lecarde family will always be in your debt sir."

"I have no concern with collecting debts for saving people, I am only concerned in stopping the forces of evil," said Simon as he walked in the direction of the biggest house in the town. He could hear the sound of metal on metal inside the house so he rushed to the inside and was surprised to find axw armors guarding the door to the mansion. He jumped over one of the axes and cracked his whip down on the helmet of one of the axe armors with enough strength to split it in two. After he had defeated the first one, he immediately didn't feel like dealing with the other one so he threw daggers into its armor until it could barely move and burst right through the door. Immediately it stirred a bunch of bats that flew at Simon, but he managed to destroy most of them with his whip. The only problem was that there was no man in black, just a man with long blond hair lying on the ground with a wounded arm and a spear in one hand. "You must be the master of the Lecarde manor?"

"I know what you come for Simon Belmont, but I am afraid you are too late," replied the Lecarde. "He has already taken it."

_

* * *

Finally I have reached this __town_, thought Iscariot as he set foot into the town, but then he started to notice how there were very few people, it was like a ghost town. 


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: The Return of a Nightmare

Disclaimer: I do not own Castlevania, no matter how much I wished I did.

* * *

Simon helped the master of the Lecarde mansion to his feet and looked around for any other signs of a monster left behind to slow them down. There was nothing there in the house except an emptiness and a sense of dread that was derived from the failure to reach their in time. Now Iscariot had walked off with the key and directions to the crypt of Mobius, the infamous vampire whose madness angered Dracula so much that he forced him into slumber. A threat of centuries past had made another appearance in the world and already the trio felt a light begin to dim. The Lecard had seemed to have gotten much better after drinking a potion and getting a while to catch his breath. They needed to move quickly and that meant that this time for rest would be the only time they would have in the next days. The hollow of the mansion seemed to be filled with a blue light mixing with the orange glow of a candle in the dark as the two lights bounced off of hollow walls creating a home more foreboding than a cemetery.

"I thank you for your help, Lord Belmont, my name is Atruste Lecarde, I am the guardian of the key," said the man before adding grimly, "Much a pride as it was a joy for me now, but my fathers have been in the service of Dracula ever since he spared our lives so many years ago. Now I have failed to repay such a rare act of generosity from such an evil being."

"Something even worse will come up if we do not hurry to stop it's resurrection," said Sonia as she picked up a few pieces of flint to use for a fire later. "We can easily beat him to the trail if we had horses."

"There should still be some horses in the stable," said Lecarde as he made for the door to the outside, but Simon put his hand out in front of the man, blocking him from going onward. "Why are you stopping me right at this moment when we should be hurrying to stop the enemy?"

"We have not the right assessment of the full situation," replied Simon as he returned to sit on a small chair that was in the study and set his gaze on a naked flame. "First, the horses in the stable were more than likely killed to make sure that we do not beat them to where ever they are going. This of course was unnecessary because we do not know exactly what their plan is or where it will take place in the right sequence so it could be that we will shoot straight past them. Third, the platter of boots on mud outside is the same as the sound of Iscariot's boots on the mud."

"You do see a lot, Belmont," said Iscariot as he stood in the door a bit arrogantly, unaware that Sonia's hand was fishing into her pouch for a dagger to throw at him. "Now then, you know what I come for and my offer is still on the table, so please do hand it over."

"That brings me to my other question," said Simon as he turned the chair to face the devil forge, his right hand resting on his whip. "Why would he come back when he has what he wants? Surely Iscariot would not come in here so arrogantly if he had already taken it, but what about the person before who looked like Iscariot, who could that be? Of course I suppose the only thing more dangerous than one devil forge is another one that likes to play puppeteer."

"And just what might you mean by all those words, Belmont," asked Iscariot as he cocked his eye at the famous vampire hunter and then rested his eyes on the deadly Vampire Killer.

"I believe your friend has your key, but he is obviously regretting that you are still in the picture," replied Simon as he stood up and took a step towards Iscariot. "I believe he intended me to waste my time killing you so that he could get a distraction and a chance to get one obstacle out of his way. Brings new meaning to the term 'killing two birds with one stone.'"

"And you're expecting em to believe that?"

"It's not here and you can fight me to the death for it, but you will never find it here. I'd be asking your friend, Leto if I were you."

The devil forge thought on this for a moment before taking small, slight steps back so as not to make his retreat noticeable before summoning a golem to keep the three warriors busy while he ran out the house and into the darkness of night. It didn't take much for the three to finish the golem since it was made so hastily and with little attention that monster was practically falling apart right before their eyes while they cut it down. And such was the end of the golem, going as swiftly as it came. Inside Simon was dreading the fact that now he would have to deal with two devil forges and if he wasn't quick enough, an ancient vampire. Even for him, the three made a deadly combination.

"We should go now, we can try and have Charron takes us to the lake near Dracula's castle," said Simon as he walked out the door quickly, gathering his dropped satchel a he departed from the mansion. "Lecarde, though you may wish to come with me, you must stay here and guard the children to make up for dragging them into this mess. Also, if you can, try and contact Alucard for us and tell him what has happened."

It was at this moment that something very odd happened. There was a blue light in one fo the flames as other, orange, flames danced around in the air surrounding the candle. It appeared to be a threat or a trick of the imagination, but as soon as the flames began to settle, it took the form of a man, or to be more precise it took the form of D. Schneider. The magician seemed to materialize through a portal with a strange black satchel held out in his extended hand and a smirk on his face, as if to show pride over his superior magic. Simon took the bag from the magicians hand and looked in to see three distinct metal orbs that looked a lot like the gems for Vampire Killer.

"This is a very potent magic to teleport you to anywhere that you can imagine being at," said Schneider as he turned and went back to reading his book, turning only to add, "just think of the place you want to go to and say, 'go where I am going, onward.' But you must also have a clear image I your mind about the place you wish to go or it will be hazardous."

"Thank you, but could you help us get to where Alucard is or get a message to him," asked Sonia as she tried to write something down on a piece of paper as a message, but found that the ink had dried up from all the flames.

"Do not worry about him he will be going where you are going," replied the magician with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"And just where am I going," asked Simon as he looked quizzically at the magician.

"You know the answer, my dear Belmont, you just dread going there."

* * *

After Simon was sure that he had packed everything for his journey he broke a piece of wood from a raggedy hut and cut into it with a knife so that he could fashion a wooden stake. He did the same for five other stakes and split them amongst himself and his lover, Sonia. Her simple touch on his hand sent a warm sensation in his body and renewed his spirit to preserve in the trials that he would face soon. He stood there for a moment so he could steal a glimpse of her in case something went wrong, something that he hoped happened to him and not her for he doubted that he could ever recover from such a wound. Reaching into the satchel, he brought out one of the metal orbs and recited the incantation before dropping the metal orb to the ground, causing a swirling green mist to form that swarmed around them.

Simon felt his head being stretched and a little spread out, like a drop of jelly being spread over a large loaf of bread. Everything became less solid as the world seemed to drift into abstract and the green mist seemed to be fading, its eerie glow giving way for a dread cold darkness that seemed very oppressive, like the soul of a demon. He called out her name to make sure if she was okay, but he found that his vocal cords had long since been nullified and were now low in volume, so much that Simon had to guess whether he was actually shouting or if he even had the strength to shout. He looked for his arms and legs, but couldn't find a single shred of evidence that he even had a body as everything was covered in the terrifying darkness. Then there was a bright light at the end of the dark tunnel that seemed to be gaining on Simon ever so slowly and he found that his best chance was going to the light for he had a faint feeling that it was Sonia. When he finally reached the light he wrapped his arms around it, now being able to see his limbs and his mind then started to skip thoughts like an ink pen losing its ink. Then his mind finally went blank.

_

* * *

It feels so warm and soft_, thought Simon as he felt something on his lips that brought him out of his deep slumber to see Sonia's staring at his own as she kissed him. He returned the kiss just as tenderly as she had done and then he embraced her, glad that they had not been separated in the darkness that threatened to consume him. He wanted to do so many things right there, but he felt the presence of another person there and decided that time would not allow for anything other than a kiss. Besides, he would have all the time in the world to love her when it was all over, all he had to do was wait until then. He turned towards the other person that was there and saw Alucard standing on a log while his long white hair flew majestically into the breeze. He looked at the dhampire with a great curiosity and then found that he wasn't staring at him at first. 

"Excuse me, Alucard, I'm afraid we were unable to stop them from taking the key," said Simon as he stood up from the ground. "But I thank you for sending that magician to help us, it was very beneficial."

"What magician, I never sent anyone but the wolves to help you," said Alucard as he set his gaze to Simon with a cocked brow and then he turned his sights to look at the object he was staring at before.

Simon turned around to see what was causing the great dhampire such distress and gasped as he saw Castlevania resurrected as it had been when Dracula was still in power. The air above it was filled with a black mist that was reminiscent of all the darkness that Dracula held during his time before Simon had stopped him. Simon looked at the dhampire and Alucard nodded at him. They would have to take another walk through the castle to put an end to whoever had summoned the demonic castle. With his whip in hand, Simon walked towards the castle and Sonia followed with him, the night was still young.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Enter the Castle

Disclaimer: I do not own Castlevania nor do I own the characters.

* * *

Simon looked at the all familiar sight that used to fill his nightmares before and were certainly none the welcoming as he looked at them now, just maybe a little less terrifying than before he defeated Dracula. Castlevania, what use to be the property of one Walter Nernhard, it was now the manor of Count Vladmir Dracula Tepes, the terror of Transylvania whose name alone could make the blood run cold and children to run crying to their mothers. He was the haunt of a child's nightmare come to life by the manifestation of the evil in men's hearts and his demonic castle thrived on that evil like a leech to the darkness, the same darkness that gave it birth. Evil breeds evil and yet it was because of the actions of Mathias, the knight that became Dracula, that the Belmonts now had a weapon to use against the monstrosities of the night so in a way, Evil bred good. The lines were never solid in Simon's opinion and he saw that both the darkness and the light were possible, Castlevania was a fine example. It is a sight that both awes and terrifies the mortal soul at its majestic beauty in architecture and passages that change so that one person would never stay in the same castle at night, but at the same time it was the symbol of an evil that would destroy the world with its poison. A subtle killer was Castlevania. Simon only hoped that this subtle killer wouldn't be his own killer.

"Come on, we shouldn't waste precious time," said Simon as he started to traveled up to the castle gates with Sonia and Alucard following him, the crows singing their song above his head. "This castle may have changed since the last time that I came here, but I believe that it should generally take the form of the last castle summoned."

"No, the two are wielding Castlevania and now there will be two parts to the castle," said Alucard as he stood over a ledge near the plain steps that led to the drawbridge of the castle. As if expecting them to come, the drawbridge started to close up so as not to let them in. "Come we must cross it before it is too late!"

Simon dashed off the ledge and up the steps as his boots began to pick up on the wood of the drawbridge which seemed to push back. It was surely a malevolent will that meant to push him off the bridge and into the moat that would surely hold monsters that would swallow him whole. He looked over his left shoulder to see that Sonia was following him, but he could not see the dhampire behind her and began to distress that their greatest ally had somehow gotten left behind. Reversing his direction he quickly gave Sonia a little push to send her forward into the correct direction before he went down the stairs to see Alucard dueling it out with a large metal armor come to life and now swinging a rather large curved blade. Without hesitation, he brought out Vampire Killer and sent it cracking down onto the helm of the large piece of possessed armor, which did damage to it yet it was still able to function. The blade swing in an arc at the Belmont, who just managed to dodge the blade that was soon embedded into the ground and stone of the steps. Alucard helped his friend by sending out a pair of fireballs to crash into its armor on the back, exposing a dark orb that was undoubtedly an evil spirit given a form to control for its creator's dark will.

Unfortunately for the dhampire, the armor turned at the attack of the fireballs and managed to pull its blade out of the ground ready to swing again, which it did with a terrifying burst of speed. The dhampire was able to avoid this attack, but Alucard could see that the drawbridge was high in the air and he doubted that Simon could get over it. Thankfully, by the will of God himself, Simon was a very resourceful warrior and taunted the armor to come nearer to him, enraging the spirit so that it would not tell that he was coming closer to it. Of course, the armor being very large, it was clumsier at close range and Simon was able to ue the armor as a jumping platform for the drawbridge while throwing a vial of holy water onto the orb that destroyed the evil spirit inside. The explosion shot Simon out towards the drawbridge and he was able to catch the top and pull himself over it while Alucard took the form of a bat and flew over the gate.

* * *

"Well it seems that he was able to get over the first of your little tricks, Leto," said Iscariot as he looked out the window of the master tower to see the Belmont successfully climb over the drawbridge. A grin spread across his face at this. "I guess he has greater skills than you give him credit for, despite having defeated Dracula twice."

"Be quiet Iscariot, unless you have something productive to say," spat Leto as he paced around the room and looked at the map of the castle. "He still has to find his way through this castle and I will not make it easy for him nor his other friends, but right now we have another pest to worry about, my friend."

"You mean we have to worry about the fact that our old superior, Death, does not like what we have done and will do," asked Iscariot in a manner that made it sound more like a statement than a question, much to the annoyance of Leto.

"Yes that is what I mean, he does not have any vision in his being," said Leto venomously as he continued to silently rage against his mounting problems and the taunting of his friend, who seemed to be more antagonistic ever since he took the appearance of Iscariot. _He could realize that I have no intention of giving him power or he must have._ "Anyway, now we have Carmilla to raise the castle once more and we will soon have all of our guests up and ready to give Belmont a warm welcome."

"Fine then, I will go with Carmilla to my part of the castle and wait for him there," said Iscariot as he walked up the stairs leading to the tower of the east wing, his own wing. "I believe that Death is in your wing so he is your problem."

"He will leave and Belmont will die before he reaches your tower," said Leto not bothering to look over at his friend because he wanted to hide the insecurity that was surely on his face. _The time is not right yet, but that idiot will most definitely keep Belmont busy enough for me to resurrect __Mobius__ and then I will use __Mobius__ to gain the dark gift and __Castlevania__ all at once. Nothing can stop my rise power, not even Iscariot. _

* * *

After they had crossed the gate, Simon and his allies weren't surprised to see lowly skeletons in the empty spaced between the front gate and the main doors of the castle. Each skeleton was an exact carbon copy of the other, only being different in height and length, plus a few had cracks in random area of their skulls. They were the remains of those who had failed to cross that space and were now doomed to wander around this area until Dracula gave them leave to finally rest in peace, but the time would had been delayed longer if a less merciful man had come. Mercy was what Simon had brought with him and this mercy was Vampire Killer crashing down onto their bones and they were destroyed into a fine white powder. To accomplish the task in a relatively short amount of time, Simon moved his whip randomly, hitting any and every skeleton that he crossed paths with until he was finally on the other side of the space. He stopped for a few minutes to wipe the dust and powder off of his whip before returning to his path to the inside of the main doors, where he was greeted by the sight of bats.

They fluttered above his head threateningly, but he was not in the least bit intimidated by the low level vampires and walked on, using his sword to hack at a few that got close while his companions did the same. It was a repetitive task, but a necessary one for this was only pestilence, which left three other horsemen to deal with. Most of the bats were burnt by Alucard's fireballs or were cut in half by Simon and Sonia's swords. The rest fled into the night since they were not bound by any loyalty towards the devil forges, the only loyalty being to the true master of the castle, they just served their posts out of reflex.

After passing through the main door of the castle, the group started at the bottom of the castle in the catacombs of Castlevania that was now the first thing that a person would walk through at the bottom of the castle. It was a cold and dark maze of corridors and ledges made from the bones of the dead that were twisted and deformed to fit the décor of the castle. The haunting dim lights of the torches of the wall did little to stifle the chill that the trio felt crawling up their spines as their boots softly crunched against the bones of the floor. The air reeked of the corpses of those who had come before and the vile smell of something so disgusting that Simon himself would not like to think on it. As he slid down the narrow and steep slopes, tearing and breaking the bones that lined the surface before he finally reached the bottom of the catacombs. On the other side of the bottom floor was a passageway that surely led to the next area of the castle, but before he could make his way there the floor started to shake. When it stopped its shaking, the floor then seemed to change form as the bones on the floor formed into singular entities, the common bone throwing skeleton. Simon let out a sigh of frustration at the many pests that seemed to be there to get in his way at every turned, regardless of how many he killed before.

"We shouldn't waste our time on such weaklings," said Alucard as he started forming a large fireball in his hand. "These are clearly meant to slow us down so I will create a gap for you and Sonia to slip through."

"And what of you," asked Simon as he pulled out a vial of holy water.

"I can get by these things most easily while you'll have trouble with that," said Alucard as he let his fireball loose, destroying a large portion of skeletons and, sure enough, leaving a large gap that Simon and Sonia could slip through easily. Alucard then followed behind them in the form of a bat.

When they had finally reached the other side they found themselves in a staircase of many platforms of white marble that was smooth as metal. It was a thing of beauty only marred by claw marks on the marble that left Simon wondering as to the nature of the creature that inhabited this area. The howl in the air told Simon that he would soon find out.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Of Wolf and Man

Disclaimer: I do not, in any way shape or form, own the rights to Castlevania or the characters of the franchise.

* * *

The howl echoed throughout the dimly lit marble staircase like the cry of a dead man, bouncing off the stone and into the fears of men. The air smelt like the creature's breath or what the creatures breath should smell like, the reeking odor of all the men who had been eaten alive by the thing born of man and wolf. Its every pressing of pawed feet onto the marble stairs had left an impression, both in the marble itself and in the silence as the echo of claws scraping against marble and the heavy thud of its feet mixed together. Despite the foul stench of the staircase it was relatively clean with the absence of blood splatters or bodies littering the walls and steps of it, almost as if the creature took its time to clean up after itself. _This castle is relatively new though so it wouldn't have had time to devour a human_, thought Simon as he walked farther up the corridor of the staircase and he started to notice how it seemed to get wider instead of narrower. Normally space would become more enclosed to funnel a large force into a singular entity. _They must be very confident to leave themselves open to such a large force, even they must have their weakness when it comes to summoning. Then again, what army would dare __march__ against Dracula's castle, even if the master isn't in. _

When he got to the widest part of the marble staircase he was able to notice how much it had changed when compared to the other parts of the staircase. It had platforms that were there to have connecting jumps for the gaps between staircases and was made of different type of stone than the stairs. It was a greenish color instead of the usual pearl white of the marble and when Simon jumped on one it felt like something was pushing back at him, just as the bridge had been back at the castle, and as the Belmont walked further onto the platforms he noticed that there were no paw marks imprinted into the platform even though there were paw marks on the steps in front and back of each platform. _They __were made so that the creature who resides here does not break, almost as if it is by the creature's __will__. But why is it that this place is given to one creature and not a great many more? Did the other creature take over this domain or does this lead to some place else?_ He was drawn out of his thought when his ears began to realize that his steps had gone alone a few steps ago and turned around to see his two allies staring at him with a bit of concern.

"Is there something the matter," asked Simon as he touched his face and any other vital parts, wondering if he had been harmed in some way that he didn't know.

"You seem to have this concentrated look on your face, as if you are thinking on something," replied Alucard as he took a few steps forward. "You should let us know what you are saying?"

"Sorry I just have a habit of thinking internally and keeping my thoughts to myself," said Simon as he waited until the loud thumping of the creature's movements stopped.

"Well you are not alone, like it or not you have two other companions who wish to know your thoughts," said Sonia as she put her sword to rest.

"I was wondering why this place is only inhabited by one creature," said Simon as he pointed at the claw platform. "It seems like these were set up with a stone that couldn't be marred by the impression of the creature and everything else is made wider as if for the creature to move freely in. Dracula would have never given so much of the castle to one creature because he knows that it can be overcome and such a creature would have been better at the front gates."

"Well when Dracula was here, he had an ability to call on many devils and monsters in his own right," said Alucard as he jumped to the next platform and brushed a hand over it. "The last time one thing got so much of the castle was when a golem was created out of metal and the very stone of the castle. That was the power of Dracula, but I doubt that even two devil forges could do anything of that magnitude. Even if they summoned Carmilla, there is nothing left in the castle of that size and if it were of such caliber it would have larger tracks."

"Which means that they have been using too much of their own power to cope with such a thing," realized Sonia as she smacked her fist into her own hand. "Right now all they can use are the monsters that are still here and what monsters they can summon. The only one not weakened is Iscariot, but he must have refused."

"Why would he refuse," asked Simon as he jumped to the next staircase as he pulled out a dagger with his left hand. "Oh wait, he would be wary of his partner after the incident back at the LeCarde manor so he wouldn't want to help his partner and make himself weaker in the process."

"She is quite a mind of her, she reminds me of one of your ancestors long ago," said Alucard as he began to turn himself into a bat, but stopped as the thudding seemed to draw closer than before. "It would seem like this creature is able to sense such things or has finally grown bored of waiting and is coming to attack us."

"Why are you so calm about that fact," asked Sonia with a raised voice of alarm as she quickly pulled her sword out and then shifted her hands to the silver dagger that she kept. "This may be something of a mystery to you but we can't exactly avoid it by turning into a bat!"

"Oh yes, I forgot about that, it's just that I don't usually worry because half of these monsters can be easily defeated," said Alucard, a bit embarrassed at his assumption.

"I doubt that this one is one of those weaklings if it was given its own part of the castle," said Simon as he pulled out Vampire Killer and his sword to prepare for the fight. "Besides, Vampire Killer is telling me that it was here before but it was hidden deep into the earth to wait for the time when it was needed and now Leto has unleashed this monstrosity from his earthly cage to kill us. I can't quite explain it, but this creature seems to be calling out to me as if it wants something from me."

"What does it ask for," asked Alucard as he looked curiously at the Belmont and felt a bit of curiosity well up in his stomach as he realized that this Belmont was somehow special from all the others that had come before him and would be even more powerful then the Belmont's to come.

"I can barely hear it and even now I question my hearing, but…it's as if this creature is telling me to kill it. Maybe it is the whip asking for me to kill it and erase a bit of darkness from this world, but its barking and howls all seem to form words to me."

"This is most strange," muttered Alucard as he went on ahead to scout for how close the creature was and was nearly hit by one of its monstrous paws, but managed to back up from the attack. "I won't bother telling you it's here so come up and help me!"

Simon didn't need another word or a repeat of what was just said as he leapt into the air and brought his whip down on the back of the large were-wolf that howled in pain as he did this, but all the while he kept hearing it. Those words kept circulating through his head and distracted him so much that before he knew it, the creature had him pinned down to the ground. Luckily, Sonia was there to throw her silver dagger into the throat of the beast, but it was still able to move. Cursing himself for spacing out, Simon stabbed his sword into the foot of the creature to impale it to the floor, but it managed to pull the sword out of its foot with one of its massive arms.

The whole sight of the wolf was something that was straight out of a tale of Norse mythology, when one talked about Fenric, the son of Loki. Even as blood was pouring from its wounds it still managed the strength to move around so quickly. The trio was beginning to see why this thing had gotten its own room, but they were also beginning to see signs of it tiring as the movements of the beast began to diminish and it was so weak that Simon managed to slam it down to the ground with his whip.

"I saw what you showed me, Magnus," said Simon as he walked towards the creature that lay exhausted on the ground, his voice now very soft. "You were once a man who had a wife and children, four boys and three girls, but each of them was murdered by Mobius. I saw him make you into what you are and I'm here to end it now, right here will be the time when you can rest."

The beast turned its head to look at the Belmont and it seemed like it was smiling at him, finally happy that it could die after going through the centuries waiting for a death that would never come for him. Over the years days had run together because his dreams kept him from sleeping and each year was one long day to him. For the first time in a long time, Magnus had been given a taste at the bitterest of illusions and the greatest of drugs, hope.

"Thank you," was all he said before he felt the sting of the whip against his skin and the sensation of it slipping inside of him, bringing with it an all welcoming and fulfilling darkness that Magnus embraced with open arms. _Laurel…I'm coming back to you,_ was the last words that Magnus thought before he departed for the afterlife, the only place where he and his family could be reunited.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Passed the Looking Glass

Disclaimer: I do not own Castlevania nor the characters.

* * *

The rest of the stairs case seemed to be just a breather taken at a comfortable slow pace after spending so much time running and jumping around while fighting the armies of the undead. Simon felt good that he had a chance to take a breath after having to run around so much, but still he felt that he was letting the enemy get a head start on the situation. It was after a few minutes of slowly walking, Simon picked up his pace so as not to fall back in time too much, but at the same time he was going at a pace that wouldn't tire him out. Each step had lost its push and was now very soft, almost acting like a cushion with each step. His breaths came at like sighs of relief and his muscles started relaxing.

"That was the first guard but I am quite sure that there are other such creatures here," said Alucard as he continued to walk up the stairs until he came to a solid steel door that was meant to be opened by a sense of force that all of them had. "This is meant to tire out long groups though it probably couldn't affect us so much here, but yet I fear that some of the old servants of my father have also returned to their rooms."

"Can you tell which room they are in then," asked the Belmont as he pushed the door open, crushing some mindless skeleton behind it.

"The castle is never the same and as such, I cannot tell which room one would be in, but I am able to identify certain monsters," said Alucard as he walked along and saw that the path out of the marble stairwell was split into two paths, one path obviously meant to lead to another part of the castle. "Damn, it appears that each one has control of a different part, yet I cannot tell which devil forge controls which wing of the castle."

"Then I believe that this would be the most opportune time for us to split up and confront ech devil forge," said Simon as he looked towards the left path. "I will take this one with Sonia while you can take the other path that leads to the other devil forge. I'm confident that this one leads to the tombs since I can sense that Iscariot went here and he would most undoubtedly be going to his beloved Draculina who lies in her tomb. The other one should be bested by you since you are more knowledgeable in the matters of sorcery and dark powers."

Alucard was unsure of how to take that last comment but he knew that he was only angry at the truth of the matter, not at the person who pointed out the cruel truth. It was his lot in life as a dhampire and he had long since made peace with that thanks to his exploits with Belmonts of the past. With a nod, he transformed into a wolf and started bounding up the path that led to the right tower while Simon walked on the left path to the tower that he knew for a fact held Iscariot. He could only hope that the one named Leto would not prove to be the better of the two, a thing he highly doubted since Leto had been the one using the most power this whole time.

As he walked up the path, Simon would look over his shoulder to make sure that Sonia had not fallen behind any before turning back to make sure that he didn't trip over his own two feet. He could sense that he would have to fight soon because Vampire Killer was acting crazy and he was answered by skeletons dressed in armor, both leather and bronze plated, the leather armor skeletons being armed with scimitars while the skeletons in bronze carried short swords. He waited for one of the skeleton to make a stab at him with a short sword before using his enchanted whip to grab the sword out of the hand of the skeleton and use it to cleave through two others. Then he unsheathed his own sword and started cutting down the ranks of the skeletons with each stroke, cutting through spine and head like it were just a piece of meat being cut by a sharp axe. Sonia was also using two weapons to fight as she blocked each attack with the spear held in her left hand and attacked with the sword in her right, falling back to back with her lover as the two fought through the formations of skeletons until the room was nothing but a pile of bones unable to be distinguished from the catacombs.

"It would appear that the devil forges have been busy making sure that each place fit the personality of the person who makes it," mused Simon as he kicked aside a helmet with skull still attached and then proceeded to make his way onwards. "I do, of course, fear that Leto's path maybe a lot more devious than this one and therefore fear for the safety of Alucard."

"I'm sure that he is probably expecting the same thing of Leto, but Leto cannot do that much to harm him," assured Sonia as she stood next to Simon and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure that we will meet with Alucard when this is all over and we have Lydia back."

"Yes, I am sure that you are right," said Simon as he walked on to the other area that was hidden behind a strange door that appeared to be a mirror, but at the same time it showed the path ahead of them. "Such a strange looking glass that it would be reflecting our image, but at the same time showing us what is on the other side of it, don't you agree Sonia?"

"Yes I do," said Sonia as she touched the glass on the door and then wrapped her hand around the handle, pulling it open to reveal what seemed to be the opposite of what was on the door. On their side appeared to be a chapel with a cross hanging in the background of an altar, but the reality of it was just a plain corridor. "And thus the mystery of this door gets deeper, so deep that I wonder if I will be able to discover the solution."

"Ah so you wish into Iscariots castle, given to the original owner by one of the celestial beings of Japan," said a familiar voice from behind them. They turned to see the smiling D. Schneider as he stood before them and examined the door. "The castle is a special one, one that was something of an earlier design from the time of Walter Bernhard, an arrogant fool whom your patron was acquainted with for a night and then dispatched of him in the morning to say. This was made by Bernhard as a bit of sport but he felt that it would be too unfair since he expected any man was supposed to be testing his strength, not his brain. I'm glad he was that much of an idiot or else you wouldn't be here helping me out."

"Who are you might I ask," asked Simon as he looked at the magician curiously and then began to see that the magician had increased in height and his hair was now of a silver color.

"The last name of Schneider is a fake, but my name is D," replied the magician as he pushed at the mirror and to the surprise of the two vampire hunters, his hand went through. "I suppose you now see the dream castle beyond the looking glass."

With those words, the magician went through the door and they could see him walking down the chapel. They wasted no time in jumping through and following the magician, their boots hitting the concrete of the floor as they asked him to stop, but the magician was either ignoring them or already lost in his musings. _Such a strange man this is and yet he has been the best help that we have received on this quest_, thought Simon as he followed through the door that the magician had gone through only to find the magician was gone. All that was there was a large monster that was composed of the body parts of other dead bodies and was stitched together in so shoddy a manner that Simon was surprised that it didn't unravel at the seam. The odor coming from the creature was altogether ghastly, even for the castle, but Simon had put up with the smell once before and the creature didn't smell as foul the first time around when Simon was forced to fight while trying not to vomit at the smell. Such a thing was a terror of man trying to achieve something that it should not do, the end result of an experiment that produced one of the most frightening results in years.

"So it would appear that there is another thing that requires our attention as well," said Simon as he prepared himself for another battle with a dangerous creature.

* * *

Iscariot watched over the fight with great anticipation, his eyes never looking away from the orb that showed him everything that his opponent did. He absolutely loved being in this role and could see why his lord, Dracula, would always be watching whenever a Belmont made his way through the castle. It was the most exciting thing and would make fighting him all the sweeter as he would have defeated the man who went through Dracula's castle three times. Such a man would probably give Iscariot the best fight he had ever had in a long time. He drank his wine as he set it down and felt a cold hand caress his neck as Carmilla came to sit by him.

"You know that he is probably using you to help him gain more power or summon his true lord," asked Carmilla as she took her seat right next to him, causing him to tear his eyes away from the joy of the orb and look at her beautiful pale skin that reminded him so much of the moon as well as her full red lips that he had kissed so often.

"Do not worry about that my delicate beautiful creature, I will not kill the Belmont until after I have prevented Leto's treachery," said Iscariot as he cupped her cheek. "Leto may think he is clever, but all of his schemes have placed him into a difficult position where I could easily over power him and then I will simply defeat the Belmont only for him to enact his plan thinking me weak and I will easily kill him. I will have done Lord Dracula such a service that he would entrust me to everything and wouldn't be bothered by me receiving the dark gift from you."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Unexpected Gift

Disclaimer: I do not own Castlevania and unfortunately from all my reviews I think I can't own the attention span of a good majority of the fandom.

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The creature moved towards them, its large arms swaying out with every step that it took and its every footstep left an imprint on the floor as it towered before them. They saw the terrible monster and realized that it was freshly made as the stitching was hastily done and there were still bits of electricity coming from the bolts on its neck. Mist seemed to pour around it as it walked, as if trying to hide the giant monstrosity in its cloak of obscurity, but it was very hard to hide such a large creature and this one was too large. Simon was pretty sure that he could try moving back and forth so that the creature would have a tough time, but as soon as he tried that a vine shot out to grab his legs. Through some bewitching of the castle plants, the allies of darkness had managed to transform the garden into a thing of danger by giving each vine its own life. _This vine must bear a very strange fruit for it to be able to attack like that_, thought Simon as he looked into his pouch and found that he was running dangerously low on his supplies, such as daggers, holy water, and garlic. He didn't think that either of them could do something, but he was definitely wanting to save the very few crosses that he kept there with him, their power was very great.

"I never expected him to use something of that nature, it has no finesse to it and is merely only a pawn," said Simon to Sonia as he pulled out his own sword and looked around to decide how he would fight this thing in the limited amount of space that he had. "This seems like it would be more of the work of Leto to use a monster that could serve no better than a pawn but still have the strength of a great monster."

"Maybe it is a boast of strength as part of his arrogance or he is giving you a test of strength," said Sonia as she reached into her own sack for something and soon came out with a strange red ball. "I believe this will help give us some room to move around."

"Where did you get such a strange thing," asked Simon as he looked at the object in her hand.

"This is a fire orb that can create a fire when thrown onto something concrete," replied Sonia as she threw the orb at the vines, causing a fire to erupt from them as they thrashed around as if from pain, but this did not last long as the mist soon began to become heavier and the moisture from it put out the fire. "It's this mist. It must give the vines its life!"

"Then it will be that much easier to conquer it," exclaimed Simon as he called on the power of the ice stone in his whip, but as soon as he had summoned the power of ice, the creature was there, reeling back its large hand for a punch. "Damn, find the weakness of one enemy and you have to deal with the other! A perfect setting for entrapping one's enemies!"

"If this mist can be frozen or chilled in the slightest, it may be able to do harm to the creature," reasoned Sonia aloud as she stabbed the creature in the back, only to have it real around at the feeling of the thrust.

Simon cracked his whip down on the monster's back to get its attention as he started to run towards the mist, looking back to crack his whip so as to make sure that the creature followed him. As soon as he entered the mist he felt a swirl of cold a hot around him, choking him with the sudden changes in temperature in pressure. He just walked on in the mist, trying not to suffocate himself by going too fast, but at the same time he wanted to stay ahead of the monster that was coming closer. The monster was not hampered by the mist, either out of the lack of importance as the creature had long since lost a need to breath or perhaps because the mist did not swirl around the giant in such a manner. Either way, the creature was slowly gaining on Simon and he had to make his move quickly, he could only hope that he would be able to slip by it without any trouble. As soon as he noticed the creature was in striking distance, he cracked his whip, which he had imbued with the power of fire to daze the creature, but the mist would not let it last long so he had to use this chance to run right past it. Running past the creature, Simon was immediately attacked by the mist, which made the pressure of the air harder to breath and clouded the path before him. He didn't know where he was going as he ran, just that it was best for him to keep on running or else he would be caught by the creature. Just when he ran into another wall for the fourth time, Simon begin to believe that he was doomed to die there and then, but as he soon as he thought those thoughts, a small fire appeared before him like a light. He followed the light through the mist, not really knowing what it was, but he had a feeling that it was Sonia throwing another fire orb.

When he finally reached the outside of the mist he took a moment to catch his breath and look around him. Sonia was standing there looking at him with great concern; her eyes on the verge of tears from the dread welling up inside her that Simon wouldn't come out of there alive. He gave her a reassuring smile that calmed her down somewhat before he got to his feet and twirled his whip over his head to ready himself for the coming of the monster. The monster wasn't that far behind him as its outline appeared out of the mist, like an ominous shadow in the cemetery during the sunset, and Simon lashed his whip out at the mist, causing the ice to freeze all of the water particles in the mist, turning it into ice with the monster trapped in its icy clutches. Though this was just a mist so the particles weren't close together enough to form a really solid ice that could permanently trap the monster, allowing it to break free with a monstrous push forward. Quickly, Simon threw out one of his three remaining daggers, hitting its skull with a soft thud before Simon picked up one of the only weapons that he could find lying around in the castle, a small axe for throwing. It was thrown in an ark for a distance but it hit its intended target, the dagger lodged in the creature's skull, splattering blood and other grey matter.

"I see that you were able to finally take care of that thing," said a voice from the top of the room and Simon looked up to see a skeleton wrapped in the same blue robes that he wore when Simon last fought him. "You are doing just as well as I expected you to, Belmont."

"Death, I see that you two have also been summoned back into this plain," said Simon as he looked up at the Grim Reaper, the right hand of Dracula and his most loyal servant. "I don't know how or why you do such a thing, but right now I must know if you wish to take a quarrel with me or if your business is with the Devil Forges."

"At the moment I will not quarrel with you because my master is not here, but rest assured that we will meet again," said Death before he materialized a black stone before him. "This Leto uses an armor of light which gives him a defense against the affects of any weapons you have, but this stone, the stone of Darkness, can help you vanquish him. I give this to you in hopes that you will take care of the pests that are plaguing this castle."

"I thank you for this gift, no matter how unexpected it is, but I wonder if it answers your call as well," said Simon as he placed the stone to the hilt of his whip and it was absorbed by Vampire Killer.

"Right now I believe that they are preparing to use the child to summon Mobius and if he is summoned he will be quite strong," announced Death as he pointed towards the stairwell behind him. "You will have to get the pendent of Courage to get through the barrier of the castle as I have instructed Lord Alucard of, but must also be wary of any tricks. I am not sure if Leto will not just take the power for himself, but either way someone other than my Lord gets control of the castle and this is something that I will not allow."

"Will you fight as well," asked Simon as he bundled up his whip.

"If I am needed, but I have confidence in you as I have cleared a path for you to go if you wish to do something other than run off at the mouth," said Death as he turned away and then glided down. He didn't turn around until Simon was gone and he then turned to the one who was lurking in the shadows. "Now my Lord, you can come out now."

"Yes I am aware of that, but that you, I was wondering when they were going to go," said the figure as he stepped out into the moonlight and felt it on his skin as crisp as a soft gentle breeze on a hot summer day. "How I have longed to feel that, but it is truly a pity that I am doing it in such a limited form instead of using my true form and body. Anyway, now I can only wait until I must step into the fight and do something that I haven't done in six centuries, provide assistance for a Belmont. This is truly an irony, but at the same time a Belmont is helping me back on my throne and doing all the work."

"Yes, but don't you think it was a risk telling him your first initial, what if he found out," asked Death as he floated down to the man he called master.

"When I told him my first name was D I believe that he caught on in some way," replied the man as he looked at the ring on his finger. "Of course, he put that aside because he knows I am not at my full power and they are a greater threat now, sad to say."

"Do not worry Lord Dracula, you will not be like this for long, I will see to it," promised Death just as he faded off to somewhere else, leaving Dracula to plot.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: The Duel

Disclaimer: I do not own Castlevania or the characters of Castlevania. This is the place to play the Highlander theme song.

* * *

The walk up the stairwell to the tower was one undaunted by the presence of a physical threat, but by the number of trophies that put up, it was meant to have a mental threat to it. This was obviously Iscariot's way of boasting to his enemies before he began his fight, but Simon was quite certain that the devil forge would be boasting regardless. Maybe he was giving Iscariot an unfair judgment, but Dracula was not one to boast his power in such a way, he always did things to show his power. In the time of Simon Belmont he covered Transylvania in darkness when it would have easily put the world on alert to his presence. His large castle was a boast to the world by showing his power and the beauty of it. The manor of dress was also one that seemed to be consistent as Dracula would never be seen in anything that was unfit for a nobleman. These were not boasts, but just things of the proper etiquette of nobles that he was following. Iscariot, however, was one who knew he was boasting and was not very subtle in it as the stairwell filled with trophies could attest to.

"Strange that there are no monsters here," said Sonia as she looked up at the stairwell that seemed to spiral onward in a never ending ascent.

"He wants his enemies to have a chance to catch their breath before they fight him," noted Simon as he walked up the stairs and reflected upon the places and robs that Dracula provided to him when he finished with one guard of the castle. "He doesn't want us to be completely tired out by that or else it would be an unfair fight and that is something that Iscariot will never do. Even Dracula would never stoop so low as to do that, no matter how evil he may be, and Iscariot imitates his master a lot."

"Yes, but is he as dangerous as his master is the question," said Sonia as she kept at the same pace as Simon.

* * *

Leto waited on his throne for the fight between Simon and Iscariot to begin so he could put his plan into play before Alucard showed up to stop him. Leto had used a lot of power and even if he was at full power he was sure that Alucard could take him apart if he wanted to, but in the end it was intelligence that counted. Alucard seemed to have the clever scheming mind of his father, but still held onto his mother's flawed morals, not the best match, but Alucard had used one to accomplish another by saving the children from his traps without a scratch. It infuriated the devil forge to no end, but this was to be expected of the son of Dracula and he had to accept it because nothing good would come of him losing his temper. That type of thing was more of Iscariot's doings, but Leto was a calmer individual who made each move like a chess player. He had to be calm and cool so that he wouldn't find himself being caught on a move. This was difficult, but he could do it and he had to do it or else everything would fade.

An explosion sounded in the tunnels just two floors down on his tower and he knew that Alucard had gotten past those guards, much to the chagrin of Leto, who had hoped that it would have gained him some time. He wondered if it would take Simon that long to get through his tower, but then he realized that Simon hadn't had the proper test in the field of intelligence so it wouldn't be a good assessment. _Why am I letting my mind wander about these irrelevant facts? I have worked to do and if I let things get out o__f hand I may be having __Alucard__ breaking down the doors right now.__ That's just what I need right now, my whole plan to fall apart because Iscariot had to make a long and repetitive tower that slowed down his opponent __only through __pesterence__, but it had not tact to it, just the something a simple fool would have. I on the other hand have made more intricate manner of things with just the __little bits of power that I could spare for such a move. Now then __I must hope that Iscariot could at least die quickly. _

* * *

At the top of the stairwell was a small passing arch that led to another hall that was rather plain and the room was filled with columns however that had some beauty in their architecture, but it was still simple. Unlike the other parts of the tower, the columns weren't made out of marble, but they were made of some type of stone that reminded Simon of the rocks that he had once found in a volcano that was made from the cooling of the lava. It was a sharp rock that made for a great blade, but Simon had already used his blade to severe the head of Medusa, whose acidic blood melted the rock, permanently ruining the blade. Now here were columns that reminded him of that old pain of loss for a vampire hunter was always close in touch with his tools.

"What is with this room, it seems so plain for the castle of Dracula," said Sonia as she wandered around the room and found that there was a series of platforms that led up to the top of the tower. "Why would he have this plain room here for? Is this some form of a safe haven where his opponent catches his breath?"

"No this seems to have some sort of other meaning to Iscariot," said Simon as he traced his hands over the black columns and felt the familiar touch of the volcanic stone. "It would appear to have wide areas for people to fight in, but it has columns so I doubt this is the last fall back point for any force that they might control."

"It's the perfect place for a duel, don't you think?"

"I suppose if you were going to refer to it in that sense," replied Simon before he realized what she was referring to. "This is a room made specifically for the purpose of fighting."

"Brilliant as always, Belmont," said Iscariot as he dropped down from the platforms at the top of the platform area dressed in simple black trousers with a simple black tunic that were adorned with a pair of black boots that were polished. Simple, but elegant at the same time. "You have discovered the true purpose of this room and now surely you must realize that now is the time where I gain your reputation. I've studied the movements and I'm quite sure that my hands are faster than your own. Plus I have been trained all my life to fight a Belmont."

"Iscariot, you seem like a decent person and I'd hate to kill you," said Simon as he took out his whip and spun his whip to the side so that the leather would crack against the ground while he pulled out his sword to hold with his left hand. "But if I have to go through you to stop Leto then I would do so then so be it."

"Yes, this is the most fun of my life, please don't disappoint," said Iscariot as he pulled out his rapier and short, one sided sword, twirling both of them in his hands before resuming a fighting position. "Now I shall take that Belmont legacy and place in front of my master's feet for him to crush under his boot finally. The power of darkness shall triumph over you because the power of darkness will always be there, even when the light eventually fades, there is always darkness."

"Enough of your sermonizing," said Simon as he pulled the ground out from under the devil forge with his whip. "Do you intend to bore me into submission or kill me with your speeches?"

"Fine then, have at thee," shouted Iscariot as he thrust his sword at the Belmont.

Simon simply parried it with his sword before attacking, reeling his whip back until it came to the farthest part and then he brought cracking right back down on Iscariot. Seeing the leather whip coming towards him, Iscariot brought his short sword up to block it and then attacked with a series of slashes with both swords, sometimes one after the other, sometimes both at the same time. It was a simple matter of dodging and parrying each attack and then attacking at any opportune moment. The fact that it didn't seem like Simon was having any trouble facing him told him that he still wasn't as strong as Simon was. Of course that's how it seemed to Simon Belmont, but the man with the two swords was only readable in what appeared through his eyes, the only way to look into his soul.

As Iscariot did each thrust, Simon took a step back until he had backed himself in a corner between two columns, a terrible place to be in a fight, but Simon had been in the same situation before. As soon as Iscariot went in for the kill, Simon used his whip to climb up one column just above Iscariot's head and kicked him into the wall. Iscariot did, however, manage to give Simon a cut across his torso, but before he was able to finish up with his fight Simon batted his aside with his sword and used his whip to disarm the devil forge.

"It's over Iscariot, you can't fight without a weapon," said Simon as he walked closer to the sulking devil forge, but before he could get too close, Iscariot summoned a large bone dragon to shoot out of the ground and nearly took Simon's head off if he had been a second slower. "Yes, I forgot about that part."

Simon didn't have time to waste as the creature was already making a return journey to kill Simon, but Sonia was able to distract it by throwing a rock at it. Simon wondered if it could be counted as cheating but he quickly decided that Sonia in this fight was the equivalent of the bone dragon. Using his whip, Simon was able to swing his way on top of the dragon and by sticking his sword into a specific spot in its neck and twisting ever so slightly, he was able to control it to move in a certain direction. He directed it to where the devil forge was running to, his sword that was lying next to one of the columns. Simon decided that it would be more to his liking to simply lead the bone dragon into the column and jumped off the dragon just before it hit the obsidian column. The devil forge was just about to reach the sword when the rocks fell on it and Simon knocked him onto his back with the tip of his sword pressed against his throat.

"Indeed I have won this fight, Iscariot," said Simon as he held the blade close to his neck. "But right now I have no intention of killing you, the only one I want is your friend Leto. I have to stop him from resurrecting that monster named Mobius."

"I'm afraid you're too late for that, Belmont," said a voice from above and Simon looked to see a man dressed in a white tunic with white trousers and brown boots.

"Leto, I presume."

"Right you are, Simon Belmont, but you should also introduce yourself to another," said Leto as he stepped out of the way to reveal a man with long auburn hair standing behind the devil forge while baring his large canines. "It is my greatest pleasure to introduce to you the new steward of this castle, Mobius!"


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: I Freackin' Beat Dracula

Disclaimer: I do not own Castlevania or anything interesting other than my ocs.

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Simon stood poised ready to strike at the newly resurrected threat by the name of Mobius, but he was also ready to jump into the defense of Sonia if Mobius even tried to take her or harm her. Behind him was a still shocked Iscariot who was trying to reason how he could be beaten by Simon after all the years he spent training, it all ended up as another fantasy derived of that very bitter illusionary drug, pride. He crawled around the floor, feeling lower than any beast or insect that he had once swatted, and he used the wall to help himself stand up so that he could stand to fight. There was no doubt in his mind now that Leto had betrayed him, but he just couldn't believe that he had suspicion of it and still could not prevent Leto from screwing him over. It was like some tragic comedy and he was the jester who tried to get ahead of everyone, but he was beaten back by all of them and found out that in the end, he was nothing but a jester. For the first time in his life, Iscariot had felt fear as he was on the other side of the sword and as soon as Simon had spared his life he wished that Simon had taken his life. He doubted he could live with the shame of boasting so much and then being beaten so easily.

"Well I expected Simon to be at least tired when it was all over, but he's still ready to fight," commented Leto as he looked at the devil forge whom he once called friend and gave a humiliating smirk. "It seems that you were all talk and no bite after all. How disappointing, the least you could have done is die, but it seems that you cowardly cling to your life just like those warriors who you scoffed at. Really Iscariot, how do you think Lord Dracula would feel if he saw this?"

"Enough talking, I have some matters to attend to so you should go and prepare the rights to give me the power of Castlevania," ordered Mobius as he looked at Leto and the manipulative devil forge nodded and walked off. "Simon Belmont, of you I have heard a lot of and I wish to see if you are every bit as impressive as they say you are."

"I have heard a lot about you, Mobius, and I am sure you are every bit as terrible as they say you are," replied Simon Belmont as he walked towards the vampire with Vampire killer in one hand and his sword in the other hand. "I will make sure that you do not leave this castle alive or that your evil shall not spread anywhere else."

"You have very strong words, Belmont but can you really keep up with them," asked Mobius as he threw out his hand and summoned a swarm of bats to attack Simon who simply used his sword to cut them all to pieces. "I see that you have agile, but how strong are you when you face me!"

Mobius then summoned up a swarm of bats to attack Simon, who dove under them expecting for it to be a ruse to hide Mobius's fireball. He then responded by throwing a vial of holy water that instead of burning Mobius, it cause a shield to light up as it hit Mobius's protective barrier against holy water, a sign of a higher vampire. Mobius laughed at the attempt to use holy water and then lunged at Simon, who ducked under the lunge and then used one of the small axes he had brought with him to attack the vampires barrier and he saw that the shield was light by nature.

It had seemed that the Leto had neglected to take into account Simon having the reverse of light, dark, in his whip, and this left Mobius without a means of defense against Vampire hunter, making him less than a threat compared to someone who defeated Dracula. Or so Simon thought, but Mobius was quite the fighter as shown by his use of sword to defend against Simon's whip, but as soon as Mobius felt he had put enough distance between him and Simon for a fireball, Simon would let loose a dagger or an axe that had received a bit of darkness power in it so that it would weaken the barrier that surrounded his opponent.

"You fight well, Simon Belmont, but you will not win against me," said Mobius as he took another lunge at the Belmont and was knocked back with a kick from Simon. "Such strength flows through your bones, Belmont, more so than I had thought."

"I defeated Dracula, the one who put you in that coffin, kicking and screaming, do you really think that I cannot defeat you," asked Simon as he stepped forward and immediately he felt a gust of wind as a large devil flapped its wings at him, blowing large gusts of winds at him so that he had a hard time standing his ground. "Damn you, you snake! Dracula always kept his fights too himself purely, not this dishonorable thing that you are doing right now!"

"That is why Dracula lost all those times, but I will do better," replied Mobius as he sent out a fireball, which Simon just barely managed to block before being knocked back into the wall by the strong gust. "Now for the killing blow!"

That blow never came, as Sonia had already let fly one of her arrows at the devil, killing it instantly and giving Simon a relief to crack his whip right at the charging vampire. There was mighty sound that was something between a cracking of a bone and the destruction of a stone wall, but the sound was not as important as its meaning. It meant that Mobius's last line of defense, his shield, had been destroyed and he was open for any attack that Simon might throw at him. Mobius immediately sunk back into the shadows as he tried to flee from the Belmont, but to no avail as he found himself trapped in a corner. The walls seemed to be closing in on Mobius and he doubt that he would be able to defeat Simon Belmont in strength, leaving him stuck with one option besides total oblivion, he would have to change his form. Every vampire had two levels to his power, except for Dracula who had the power to use three forms, the second form being less human but more powerful.

"You have fought well, Belmont, but I doubt that you could fight me when I use my true power," said Mobius, his voice becoming more terrible as he transformed into a large monstrous shape with large bat wings and a face that was like a bat's head with horns on it. "What do you think of your chances now, Belmont? Are you feeling fear at this?"

"As I said before, I defeated Dracula, I will defeat you," declared Simon as he charged the vampire and was forced to duck under the bat wing that cut through the air.

Sonia saw that this attack left the vampire open so that when he threw his wing out to attack Simon, she threw a cross at its body, hitting it in the exposed ribcage on its chest. Simon took the opportunity at the thriving pain of Mobius to attack him, causing the scales on his spine to fall off like plated armor being ripped off the body of the creature. His partner followed up with a spear attack right in the monster's back, but Mobius thrashed his body forward, sending Sonia flying into a wall. Simon was enraged by Sonia being hurt, took his sword out and threw it at the creature, the blade sliding right through its parted ribs into its liver, causing a dark liquid to gush out that was Mobius's blood. With a yell, he charged the vampire, throwing a vial of holy water onto the exposed back of the vampire, causing it to howl in pain.

With a flick of his wrist, Simon cracked his whip at the vampire's face, but the vampire teleported away and reappeared at the top of a destroyed pillar, throwing out balls of lightning that imploded on contact of a hard surface. Simon kept up with each pace as he rushed to find Sonia and he saw her hiding behind a column while restringing her bow for another game of target practice. When she had finished with her task she moved from behind the column and in a fluid motion, let loose an arrow that was glowing blue. The arrow hit one of the larger balls of lightning that were growing near Mobius, causing a massive explosion that threw him from the pillar and into another column that collapsed on him. As he struggled to get out Simon walked toward the monster, seeing as Mobius had taken too much damage, and saw that Mobius was using the stone of the column to form around him as a way of hardening his body.

Not wanting to allow this, Simon cracked his whip all along Mobius's body and never let up until the wings were damaged beyond use or reconstruction, but Mobius was still able to lift a sword as he let his form shrink back into a more human size. The vampire stabbed at Simon, with the same manner of a rapier, but Simon was able to block the sword attack with one of his remaining golden daggers and then threw it right at the vampire's chest. Mobius fell back in pain and as he got up he pulled the dagger out of his chest and attempted to throw it back at Simon, but the dagger was easily caught in Simon's hands and Simon found it easy to dodged the attack. Mobius was unable to mount a decent defense against Simon, even faltering a bit in the fight against him and he was soon on the ground before Simon, with the blood running freely down his exposed ribs and he could see that Simon as twirling his whip in the air above his head, ready to give the killing blow.

"I see that I am still nothing compared to Dracula, not even after I tried so hard to weaken you," said Mobius as he looked at the Belmont and he closed his eyes. "Go ahead and kill me."

"As you wish," said Simon as he brought the whip down on Mobius, turning him into nothing bust dust and his blood became a mist in the air. "That is very strange."

"What is it," asked Sonia as she turned to her lover and he looked back at her with a very curious look.

"In all the vampires that I have killed, none have ever had their blood turn to mist, it's abnormal," said Simon as he looked at the ashes and wondered what could have brought on the abnormality.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Champion

Disclaimer: I do not own Castlevania.

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Simon and Sonia ran for the tallest tower, hoping to come in time to help Alucard fight the tricky devil forge that was on his way to complete some rights when they ran into a large Minotaur that charged at them with a large axe. They ducked under the axe and then proceeded to both stick a dagger in each of his feet. The Minotaur pulled each foot up from the dagger with a mighty tug and then proceeded to resume chasing both of them with its axe raised above its head and as it came close it brought it down on the two who instantly moved out of the way, but before it could bring its axe back up, Vampire Killer wrapped around its ankle, pulling the monster off balance before h drove a dagger right between its eyes. They waited for a second, letting the silence fill the air of the corridor of the tower connector as they observed any movement in the creature that would give an indication of the creature being alive. After two minutes they were convinced it was dead and ran towards the tower, all other enemies had long since been dispatched by Alucard so it was very easy for them to run all the way up to the tower. The real trouble got as soon as they reached the tower and saw an object flying right at them with a great speed, forcing them to do a quick reflexive jump. As soon as they jumped, however, arrows started shooting out at them, but Simon was able to use his whip to block any attacks that were thrown at him and Sonia.

"It would appear that you have been able to best that monster, Mobius," said a voice from above them that belonged to a smirking Leto, who was holding a stone in his hand. "I thank you for that, for if you had not done that I would not be able to suck his soul and his power into this stone and use it for my own. Unfortunately, instead of thanking you I must kill you, but because you helped me so much I will only give you a swift painless death."

"Well it seems like you finally worked up the gall to face me, Leto," said Simon as he strode towards Leto and moved his head slightly to avoid the ball of fire that was thrown at him. "You're aim is just as terrible as Mobius's, you still pale in comparison to Dracula."

"You will not be so sure of yourself, Belmont, when I have you lying on the floor I pieces!" exclaimed Leto as he called further upon the power of the stone and let loose a swarm of bats that shot out at Simon, who simply froze all the bats. Sonia fired an arrow at the frozen swarm and every single last bat shattered into a million pieces.

"First your fireball missed, now your bats have cracked under the pressure, you're slipping, Leto," said Simon as he took his whip out and then cracked it at the Devil Forge, who avoided the attack by jumping away. "You should really stop running away, Leto, and face your fate, maybe then you're master will save you."

"My master is dead and I will be his steward until his return," shouted Leto before he made another maddening leap at Simon who waited for Leto to get close before stabbing his dagger into Leto's chest and kicked him away.

The Devil Forge flew back and hit the wall hard as he gasped in pain at the sudden attack. When he regained his senses his hands felt familiar warmth on his chest and he looked down to see the blood flowing, his eyes widened with panic and he started to breath heavily. His vision started to fail him as he was going into shock and he didn't notice the footsteps that were coming toward him, but he finally calmed down when he felt a hand on his shoulder. _Lord Dracula_, thought Leto as he looked up into the smiling face that he knew was his lord, even if the face and hair were a bit different. Leto gave one last smile before his eyes finally glazed over with his death and he was happy right then, to be able to see his master one last time.

"Well, Dracula, you finally show yourself to us after all this time," said Simon as he brought his whip to the ready, but Dracula seemed to be only focused on placing the dead Devil Forge into a coffin that was among other coffins.

"When did you find out about that," asked Dracula, no longer using the name of D. Schneider, his tone a bit amused at the fact that Simon had figured out his name puzzle.

"Sonia guessed it when we were climbing the stairs and then it was confirmed when I noticed that the crest that hold up your cloak had the initials D.T.," replied Simon as he smirked at Dracula. "Dracula Tepes."

"Yes, I am Dracula, though weak as I am from being called only by the disturbance and the use of this body has taken some of my strength," replied Dracula before he held out the stone. "Even this stone lacks the full power to help me regain my full strength and the best I can manage is a bit of sword play right now, but I have no interest in winning this time."

"Is that so?"

"Right now I only wanted to make sure that certain things were in order and I will now only fight you because it would be dishonorable to flee and I would hate the idea of being a sitting target for that whip of yours."

"I understand Dracula," said Simon as he unsheathed his sword as well and prepared to do combat with Dracula, who was unsheathing his own sword as well, a rapier by the look of it.

Dracula, though not at his full strength, was still quick on his feet and was easily able to maneuver his sword with his great strength, though weakened as he was. Simon, now having fought not stop for hours, was feeling the pains and aches of his previous battle so he was in just a bad a shape as Dracula as when they fought. When Dracula stabeed, Simon would parry and crack his whip with his left, but Dracula would then let go of his sword to move away while calling it back to his hand. It was the one thing that was giving Dracula any bit of an advantage over Simon, but Simon knew this and so he planned to capture the swod and disarm Dracula. This was a problem however, for whenever Simon tried to do this, the swod would turn into a hell flame that threatened to melt Simon's sword. The two fought on until they had crossed swords thirty times and then Dracula decided that he would try and call upon the weapon of his servent, Death, to attack Simon.

The problem with this was the fact that Dracula had not kept track of his own son who was at that moment breaking out of the barrier that Leto had trapped him in and was now fighting Death. When the scythe would not come, Dracula began to worry about his chances of winning this time, for even though he wouldn't be disappointed if he lost in the state he was in he still wished to rid himself of the Belmonts once and for all. Bringing his hand back, as if to hurl a fireball at Simon, Dracula called upon another one of his swords and attacked Simon with it, each sword moving flawlessly at Simon. Simon managed to keep up with the attacks, blocking each blow with his whip and sword before moving Dracula ever closer to a window curtain while feigning weakness. Dracula was too secure in his chances of winning so that he did not see the curtain that he cut, revealing the sunlight from the outside. The sunlight burned at his skin, causing him to become weaker until he was then brought down to his knees, but instead of cursing it all he merely laughed as Simon raised his whip in the air and cracked it down on the Lord of Darkness, destroying Dracula for the third time.

"We must go now," said Alucard as he looked at the two vampire hunters and motioned for the door as the ceiling started crumbling around them. Simon grabbed Sonia's hand and raced out of the door with her and they escaped from the castle, watching it crumble from the distance as they watched on.

* * *

Months later, Simon found himself waving goodbye to Alucard, as the dhampire wished to continue his sleep until he would be called upon again and he smiled as he saw that Simon was all dressed. The two shook hands before they departed and Simon let out a silent prayer for the dhampire that someday he would find inner peace. Then he raced back to the Belmont manor so that he could find his own inner peace as he donned the ceremonial dress for what would be the most important moment of his life. Everyone was waiting out in the yard of his manor as he came down to where the mayor and village priest were, the two talking to each other about certain matters that Simon knew he would have to solve someday. This was not his primary concern as his real concern lay with the woman who was coming down the aisle to begin the ceremony. The priest said his bit and then Simon and the woman both exchanged words to one another as they stared at each other and then the priest asked Simon the most important question.

"I do," said Simon as he looked into the eyes of the woman. The priest then turned to the woman who was not going to back down either.

"I do," said the woman and the priest smiled at this.

"I now pronounce you man and wife," said he priest as he brought their hands together. "You may kiss the bride."

Simon kissed his wife and then parted to look her in the eye and said, "I love you Sonia."

"I love you to, Simon," replied Sonia.

* * *

Author's note: Well this is my first castlevania fan fic and I hope I did well. 


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